


If You Burn, I'll Burn With You

by DalishGreyWarden



Category: Dragon Age - All Media Types, The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, Crossover, Crossover Pairings, Dragon Age/The Hobbit crossover, F/M, Major AU, Romance, some shameless smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-16
Updated: 2015-03-22
Packaged: 2018-03-18 03:23:15
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 31
Words: 38,278
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3554198
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DalishGreyWarden/pseuds/DalishGreyWarden
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ashanna Lavellan is a Dalish hunter turned mercenary turned adventurer and has joined up with Thorin and company at the request of Gandalf, an old friend of hers. She and Thorin are constantly at odds with one another, butting heads over every little thing and it doesn't help that she's an elf. But they find themselves falling in love, which horrifies them to no end, but they go with the flow and see what would come of their relationship.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Last of the Elvhen

**Author's Note:**

> The song she's singing in the opening bit of this chapter is "Only You" by The Pretty Reckless. I don't own the song or lyrics, but I do want to throw in some more modern songs for her to sing since Ash is a pretty avid singer.

_“Oh boy, have you seen my head? I’ve lost my mind ‘til I forget. And oh boy, have you seen my heart? It’s beating so loud, I’m falling apart and only you can bring me back to life. Only you can pull me into right. Tell me when I can breathe again.”_

 

I always sang while I worked on improving my blades and bow; it was relaxing and it kept me focused on what I was doing.

 

“Gandalf, what are you doing here? I wish you had sent word ahead of time so we would have been more prepared for your visit.”

 

I glanced up from my latest project to see Keeper Istimaethoriel greeting the wizard Gandalf the Grey, warmly. Gandalf was the only _shem_ we ever came in contact with and allowed to interact with the clan.

 

“I apologize old friend. There is a reason I am here, though. It is very important we speak.” Gandalf replied gravely. Everyone either stopped what they were doing or at least slowed to hear what was going on.

 

“I see. Come; let us speak in my _ara’vel_.” The Keeper replied, leading Gandalf to her ara’vel so they could speak privately.

 

“What d’you think Gandalf wants? Must be pretty important for him to show up without notice and if Keeper looked just as grim as he did.” Tamris, a fellow hunter, asked with a worried look on his scarred face as he took a seat next to me.

 

“Don’t know, but I have an odd feeling in the pit of my stomach. Something’s wrong.” I replied, swallowing hard against the bile that rose in my throat.

 

“Aye something is very wrong. Mythriala says the halla are spooked and you know how tough these guys are. They don’t scare easy.” He agreed, his tenor voice tight with tension. The air suddenly felt heavy, laced with tension, worry, and fear and it was affecting everyone in the camp.

 

“Everyone we must pull up camp. Now! Ashanna, come here.” Keeper came bolting out of the _ara’vel_ , Gandalf close behind her and she beckoned me to join them. I leaped to my feet and darted over to where they were anxiously waiting.

 

“Yes Keeper?”

 

“ _Da’len_ , you are the quickest and quietest of all the hunters. Go to the west and seek out a safe path for us. Hurry and go, child and return to us just as quickly as you go.” She said, her violet eyes holding true fear in them. I nodded, gathered my weapons and ran, the terror in my gut threatening to overwhelm me.

 

 _Be scared Ash, but focus on the task at hand. Don’t let your fear keep you from your duty._ I thought, taking deep, steady breaths to calm down as I sprinted, quick as a halla to find a path. I’d been running no more than maybe twenty minutes when a bloodcurdling scream pierced the air behind me. I slid to a halt, dirt and other debris spraying up under foot as I slid across the ground, skittering to a halt. Panic gripped my heart as more screams echoed through the forest and I knew I had to return to save my people if possible. I sprinted hard, my lungs burning from the cold air I was breathing in deeply, but I pushed past the agony and kept going, praying to whatever god might be listening for them to be safe. Upon bursting into the clearing where we’d been camped, I was horrified to see my people’s bodies slung about, orc bodies strewn throughout my people’s corpses. My father, Keeper Istimaethoriel, Gandalf and a few of our hunters were battling the remaining orcs, but they were still outnumbered even with all the ones they’d managed to kill.

 

“Papa!” I cried out, grabbing my bow and nocking it with an enchanted arrow that would burst into flames upon impact. I fired arrow after arrow, every orc I hit bursting into flames, the flames glowing hot and the stench of burnt flesh filled the air, making me gag, but I kept fighting.

 

“May the Dread Wolf take you!” I shouted, putting my bow away and switching to my daggers, throwing one at a charging orc. There was a dull thud as the blade sank into the blackened flesh of the orc and It squealed and gurgled, clawing at my blade before sinking to the ground and dying. I ran past, grabbing my blade, twisting it a few times and ripping it out, black, foul smelling blood spraying up into my face, all down my arm and splattering on my leathers, but I ignored it, racing towards my next target, sliding under its legs while thrusting my sword up and yanking it back, then hopped up and beheaded the thing. I whirled across the battlefield I once called home, fighting and killing orcs, drenched head to toe in blood that was both mine and not mine, the wounds I’d suffered burning with pain so hot, my vision was going white.

 

“Keeper!” I howled when I saw a barbed arrow shoot through the air and landed with a dull thud in the Keeper’s chest. She fell to her knees, pain etched onto her face, and with her last few breaths, she managed to remove the intrusive weapon before falling flat on her face, dead. I screamed furiously, charging towards the culprit, not even caring that it was an orc riding a warg. I slammed my full body weight into them, sending the pair sprawling to the ground and I began to kick and stabbed downwards at the bastards, screaming elvhen curses at them.

 

“ _Dirthara-ma_.” I spat on the corpses and wheeled about just in time to see my father dueling a pale orc. I felt the blood drain from my face and I nearly sank to my knees in fear and defeat.

 

 _Azog the Defiler._ My terror surfaced anew upon the sight of the dreaded orc. I watched on in dismay as my father was slowly beaten back, the exhaustion plain as the vallas’lin on his face. Azog swung his mace and slammed it into my father’s ribcage, the crunching of bones causing me to empty my stomach right there in the middle of the battlefield. As father struggled to right himself, Azog swung again and beheaded him. Time slowed down as his head fell to the ground, and my hearing seemed to take on a muffled effect and yet I still heard a piercing shriek filling my ears.

 

 _Who’s screaming? Who’s left alive to scream?_ I thought vaguely before realizing that anguished cry was me. I drew my daggers once more and prepared to fight the orc who murdered my clan, resigned to my fate.

 

“ _Ma ghilana mir din’an._ ” I whispered and charged forward, but Gandalf grabbed me by the waist and hauled me back, keeping Azog at bay with spells while he threw me onto the back of our last halla alive. He yelled for her to run and run she did, taking me far away from Azog and from my dead people. I screeched for her to turn around but she just kept running forward and I collapsed forward, my arms wrapped around her soft snow white fur and I sobbed harsh tears into that fur.

 

~*~*~

 

A few days later, Gandalf and I had buried my clan, planting trees where they were buried.

 

“ _Hahren na melana sahlin. Emma ir abelas. Souver’inan isala hamin. Vhenan him dor’felas. In uthenera na revas. Vir sulahn’nehn, vir dirthera, vir samahl la numin, vir lath sa’vunin. Vir sulahn’nehn, vir dirthera, vir samahl la numin, vir lath sa’vunin._ ” I sang the traditional elvish eulogy, tears running down my face as I finished the song. Gandalf spoke a few words of elvhen and we turned to walk away, not speaking until we’d cleared the gravesite.

 

“Are all of the clans gone, Gandalf?” I asked quietly, pausing by my halla and looking up at the wizard with a tearful look on my face. He shook his head sadly and gave me a hug as I cried loudly.

 

“I’m afraid so my dear girl. I am so sorry.” He replied sorrowfully. After a moment, I wiped my face and mounted my halla, tears still running down my face and I wiped them away quickly with the back of my hand. We began to ride away, silence between us as we lost ourselves in our own thoughts. What would I do now? Where would I go? Rivendell was always an option, as Lord Elrond was my Uncle on my mother’s side and I know he’d welcome my presence, but I loved living out in the wild too much to settle down to live like a “proper” elf. Mirkwood was always an option too since my other uncle was Thranduil, though he disapproved of my Dalish upbringing.

 

“What will you do now, Ashanna?” Gandalf asked, glancing over at me.

 

“I don’t really know, Gandalf. I’m not ready to settle down but I suppose I’m not really a clan anymore. And there’s no one else I can join now, but maybe I’ll roam about Rohan for now.” I shrugged my thin shoulders, feeling numb and broken. Gandalf only nodded a little before leaning over and giving my shoulder a gentle squeeze.

 

“I must part ways here, my dear Ashanna, but I will stay in touch. Stay safe child and stay out of trouble.” He said and with that, we parted ways and I was unsure if I’d ever see him again.


	2. Adventure Awaits

Many years later, almost 126 I think, I saw Gandalf again. I was working on crafting some new arrows when the old wizard came walking into my campsite, looking more tired and much older than the last time we’d spoken. Usually our form of communication was by letter, so I was fairly surprised when he came riding up on a beautiful horse.

 

“You’ve made quite the name for yourself, Ashanna.”

 

“Gandalf! Ha ha what are you doing here?” I leaped to my feet and darted over to him, throwing my arms around him in a hug.

 

“I came to see if you would like to accompany me on an adventure.”

 

“An adventure, Gandalf? Well, I don’t have any mercenary jobs at the moment… Alright, please, sit and tell me about this adventure.” I tilted my head to the side curiously and I motioned for him to take a seat across from me, handing him some food once he sat.

 

“So, what does this adventure entail exactly?”

 

“You would be going with a company of dwarves and one Hobbit to the Lonely Mountain to reclaim it. Thorin Oakenshield is the rightful King under the mountain and he and his friends wish to reclaim it from the dragon Smaug.”

 

“Wait, hold on Gandalf, you want me to work with a dwarf that despises elves? In fact, does he even know that you’re asking me to come with this company? And a better question would be am I getting paid for this?” I inquired with an amused smirk. I knew who Thorin Oakenshield was; Keeper ensured we knew who he and his family were.

 

“Thorin does not know, but Balin does as he is the one who drew up your contract for you to look over.” Gandalf replied, handing me a piece of parchment. I unfolded it quickly and read through the whole thing, nodding slightly at each thing, finding the terms agreeable.

 

“Very well, Gandalf. Do you have a pen I could use?” I asked him and accepted the pen he handed me, signing my name gracefully on the line, folded up the parchment again and handed the pen and parchment back to Gandalf.

 

“Now, what am I supposed to be doing, exactly? I saw the term burglar on the contract, am I being reduced to a common thief now?” I continued with a raised eyebrow and Gandalf laughed merrily.

 

“No, no. We need someone who can move quickly and quietly and you are the best I can think of. Our hobbit friend was a tad more reluctant, but once everyone arrives at his home and we discuss things more deeply, I am sure he will come around.”

 

“I see. Well Gandalf, if we’re to be meeting there in a few days, I must begin to travel to The Shire. It’s a ways away from here and travel has been… difficult as of late. I’ve seen more orcs prowling about than I’d like to see.” I frowned, itching the get back to work so I’d be prepared just in case.

 

“Yes, it would be wise to start traveling then. Tell me, where is your halla?”

 

I froze a moment, and then looked back up at Gandalf, feeling weary all of a sudden.

 

“We were ambushed by warg riders. She… did not make it out. I almost didn’t make it myself, either. At the time, I didn’t really care, but I’m glad I survived. I only wish she could have lived, too.”

 

“Without a mount, how will you get to The Shire?”

 

“I’ll find a way Gandalf. I always do.”


	3. Meeting the Company

Almost a day and a half later of riding thanks to the stag I’d encountered, I had finally made it to the Shire. Now I just needed to find this house Gandalf spoke of, which looked like it could be rather difficult due to how many hobbit holes there were. I nudged my halla gently and he carefully picked his way through the town, careful to stay on the roads and to sidestep out of the way if any hobbits came past. When we did see hobbits, they gaped at us with awe and concern on their faces. Dalish rarely interacted with other races, so seeing me here was probably worrisome to them. Finally, I’d found the house and I told my halla to wait here for me, but behind the gate and hidden away. He’d give away that a Dalish was here and Gandalf wanted Thorin to speak with me first before I let him know I was an elf. I walked up to the door and knocked, smiling at a rather irate hobbit that opened the door.

 

“Mr. Baggins I presume? Might I come in?” I asked him politely and he nodded, speechless and he moved aside so I could enter his home. I ducked down and entered, hanging my cloak up neatly on the coat rack along with my bow and quiver.

 

“Thank you for allowing me into your lovely home. Is there anything I can do to help out?”

 

“No, no, you don’t need to do that. Ah, you seem to know my name but I don’t believe I got yours.”

 

“My apologies master hobbit, Ashanna Lavellan at your service.” I bowed slightly, giving him a cheery smile.

 

“Pleasure to meet you Ashanna. I don’t mean to be rude, but are you Dalish?” Bilbo asked while motioning to my facial tattoo.

 

“Ah my _vallas’lin_ gives me away, doesn’t it? I must cover that up. Makes me seem less… dangerous or whatever it is people think of us Dalish.” I grinned happily before wincing in embarrassment when my stomach growled loudly. Bilbo began to point me to his pantry then sighed when he saw it was empty.

 

“I apologize, I don’t intend for you to feed me, Master Baggins. I have something to eat out in my pack with my halla.” I waved off his concerns but he insisted on showing some hospitality to the one person who had actually shown manners in his home. I followed after him into a room where a whole mess of dwarves were laughing, drinking and eating with Gandalf whom was smoking a pipe cheerily.

 

“Gandalf! Good to see you made it.” I grinned at him and he motioned for the two cute dwarves to move a little so I could sit. I thanked Bilbo before taking a seat and loading a plate up quickly and accepting a mug of ale from Gandalf.

 

“Wait a moment, Gandalf. You never mentioned our other burglar was a Dalish.” The dwarf that didn’t exactly have much of a beard exclaimed when he saw my face. I felt my cheeks grow hot and my silver eyes narrowed at their scrutinizing gazes.

 

“Yes, I’m a Dalish. The last Dalish, might I add, and I am here to help you. If you don’t like it, then I can very well leave.” I replied hotly, my ire rising with each lingering stare at my tattoo.

 

“Now, now, leave the girl alone! She has graciously agreed to help us and has already signed her contract.” An older dwarf with white hair scolded everyone and they all went back to eating. 

 

“Introductions should be made, I think! This is Ashanna Lavellan. Ashanna this is Balin, Dwalin, Bifur, Bofur, Bombur, Fili, Kili, Oin, Gloin, Nori, Ori and Dori.” Gandalf said and after each dwarf’s name was said, they greeted me with an “at your service” and bow or nod of the head.

 

“Pleasure to meet you all. I apologize a head of time if I get you mixed up or forget your names, I’m rather terrible at remembering names.” I smiled sheepishly though I did try to memorize who was who as best as I could. Pretty soon, everyone was doing their own thing for the most part while Gandalf and Bilbo were having a conversation in the entry hall.

 

“Excuse me, I’m sorry to interrupt, but what should I do with my plate?” Ori asked Bilbo and Kili grinned widely as he stepped into the room.

 

“Here you go, give it to me Ori.” Kili said and Ori threw him the plate and then another one, which lead to Bilbo panicking while the others started pounding out a beat with their boots on the ground and their fists on the tables while they clanked the silverware together.

 

“Can-can you not do that, you’ll blunt them!” Bilbo yelled and Bofur I believe it was grinned widely.

 

“Ooh, you hear that lads? He said we’ll blunt the knives!”

 

“ _Blunt the knives and bend the forks!_ ” Kili sang while his brother tossed him some plates.

 

“ _Smash the bottles and burn the corks._ ” Fili joined in and everyone in the company aside from myself and Gandalf began to sing along as well.

 

“Chip the glasses and crack the plates! That’s what Bilbo Baggins hates.”

 

I yanked my mug of ale away upon realizing they were throwing all of the plates, mugs and utensils towards the kitchen and I was not yet ready to part with my drink.

 

“ _Cut the cloth and tread the fat! Leave the bones on the bedroom mat! Pour the milk on the pantry floor! Splash the wine on every door!_ ” Bofur yanked me up from my seat, twirling me about in a most ungraceful dance and I couldn’t help but laugh out loud at their antics. This was going to be a fun bunch to travel with, I could just tell.

 

“ _Dump the crocks in a boiling bowl; Pound them up with a thumping pole; and when you’ve finished, if they are whole, send them down the hall to roll!_ ” I began clapping along, giggling like mad, though I felt sorry for the poor hobbit, and followed them into the kitchen.

 

“ _THAT'S WHAT BILBO BAGGINS HATES!_ "

 

The dishes were neatly stacked, much to my surprise and I applauded loudly, still laughing, and everyone else couldn’t quit smiling, laughing and cheering rowdily. A sudden loud, powerful knock on the front door silenced everyone and Gandalf quickly took some powder that was the color of my skin and hid my vallas’lin and I pulled my hair out of it’s braid, covering my ears quickly.

 

“He is here.” He murmured as the company shuffled into the entry way, waiting on their leader and I followed after, my stomach feeling tight with tension. Thorin Oakenshield’s hatred of my people was no secret, nor could I blame him. My uncles had let them down and while my people would have helped, the clans were always so spread far and wide throughout Middle Earth, that there would have been no time for them to help. My father always felt poorly about that, as did my mother. They had wanted to help, but the Keeper was in no position to do so.

 

“Gandalf.” Sterling eyes swept over the gathered crowd, briefly pausing when he saw me standing in the back, watching closely, and I felt my heart stop in my chest.

 

“I thought you said this place would be easy to find. I lost my way. Twice. Would’ve not found it at all if not for that mark on the door.”

 

“Mark?! There’s no mark on that door! It was painted a week ago!” Bilbo sounded very frustrated and furious and Gandalf had to explain himself in a rather sheepish tone that made me grin a little.

 

“Bilbo Baggins, Ashanna, allow me to introduce the leader of our company, Thorin Oakenshield.” Gandalf motioned for me to step up here with Bilbo and I did so with pride and purpose in my walk. Thorin circled us, steel eyes narrowed a little as he looked us over.

 

“So… this is the hobbit. And a woman?” He looked me up and down suspiciously and I bowed slightly, looking up at him through my eyelashes. “I do not recall asking you to find _two_ more companions, Gandalf.”

 

The wizard, of course, said nothing and with an impatient grunt, Thorin’s attention turned away from me and back to poor Bilbo.

 

“Tell me Mr. Baggins, have you done much fighting?” Thorin was circling Bilbo like a wolf circled an injured halla and I did not like it one bit.

 

“Pardon me?” He spluttered, confusion on his face and I could see how uncomfortable he was with this conversation. It was apparent he had not done any fighting at all and the embarrassment he was feeling tinged the tips of his ears red.

 

“Axe or sword? What is your choice of weapon?” Thorin continued on, just plowing through the conversation without giving Bilbo much time to gather his wits enough to answer. He made a joke about his skill in Conkers, though the joke died quickly when he saw the look on the dwarf’s face.

 

“Thought as much. He looks more like a grocer than a burglar.” The smirk on Thorin’s face made my blood boil while the rest of the company laughed and elbowed each other over the poor hobbit’s embarrassment, save for Gandalf who looked most unhappy.

 

 

“And what about you, maiden, do you fight?” Thorin had turned to me and I was so angry over his treatment of Bilbo that I nearly offered to show him my skills.

 

“Yes m’lord.” I said confidently and drew two daggers out of my boots, held them up, spun them around a few times, allowing the light to glint off the metal before placing them back in their sheaths, grabbed my bow and showed that off as well before drawing the two dar’misu that rested on my back in their sheaths and lifted my skirts up to reveal I had throwing knives on garters on my thighs, and reached into the front of my blouse and drew out a long, tapered, and deadly looking dagger, unsheathed it briefly before placing it back in the front of my dress. Thorin looked impressed and everyone was startled by how loaded down I was.

 

“You sound so sure.” He said, an eyebrow raised and I was done being patronized by this dwarf.

 

“I have seen plenty of battles and been in most of them, my lord.”

 

The surprise on Thorin’s face made me wince a little.

 

 _Well that was most certainly the wrong thing to say._ I thought nervously.

 

“At such a young age?”

 

“I am a mercenary captain, my lord, and I see battle when I am paid well enough.” I replied smoothly, hoping my bravado was enough to convince him. It was because he and the other dwarves went into the dining room to speak and I went in search of Gandalf.


	4. Discussing the Burglars

“Gandalf, I don’t know if I can go on this journey if I am to hide who I am. I nearly gave it away when Thorin was questioning me after humiliating Mr. Baggins.” I told the wizard with a heavy sigh and angry scowl on my face.

 

“They need you Ashanna. No one else knows the woods and open grasslands as well as you do.” Gandalf was trying to calm me down but it was barely working.

 

“I know Gandalf. But I don’t like pretending to be human. I’ve already signed my contract, why can’t I just reveal myself now?” I demanded quietly. I was no _shemlen_ and I hated pretending to be one so Thorin would not be upset.

 

“Wait until we are at least on the road.” Gandalf sighed and I agreed grudgingly before going to sit with everyone, listening to the conversation quietly, observing every little movement, drinking in the details of all the dwarves gathered, more specifically Thorin though.

 

“What do the dwarves of the Iron Hills say? Is Dain with us?” Dwalin asked Thorin and the look of defeat on Thorin’s face said it all to me right there.

 

“They will not come. They say this quest is ours and ours alone.” Thorin replied wearily. The others murmured in disappointment and I assumed it was a big deal that this Dain fellow was not going to join us.

 

“You’re going on a quest?”

 

I’d all but forgotten Bilbo was in the back listening to everything going on and I jumped a little when he stepped up next to me, curiosity on his face.

 

“Bilbo, my dear fellow, let us have a little more light.” Gandalf smiled at the hobbit and he brought a candle to the table while Gandalf pulled a map out of his pocket and laid it out. I leaned forward, eager to see what this map was, sidling up next to Gandalf just so I could inspect the map.

 

“Far to the East, over ranges and rivers, beyond woodlands and wastelands, lies a solitary peak.” Gandalf said and I knew he meant the Lonely Mountain.

 

“The Lonely Mountain.” Bilbo voiced my awe aloud.

 

“Aye. Oin has read the portents, and the portents say it is time.” Gloin nodded at Bilbo. I was not thrilled by this journey anymore; dragons were not my idea of an adventure nor did I enjoy fighting them. I’d faced a few high dragons in my time and they were not easy to kill.

 

“Ravens have been seen flying back to the mountain as it was foretold: When the birds of old returned to Erebor, the reign of the beast will end.” Oin looked over everyone as he repeated what he knew, nodding sagely.

 

“What beast?” Bilbo looked concerned and as well he should be concerned. Dragons were no laughing matter.

 

“Well that would be a reference to Smaug the Terrible, chiefest and greatest calamity of our age. Airborne fire-breather, teeth like razors, claws like meat hooks, extremely fond of precious metals.” Bofur’s tone was tinged with sarcasm as he explained Smaug to Bilbo, which made the hobbit rather cross.

 

“Yes, I know what a dragon is.” He snapped.

 

“I’m not afraid! I’m up for it. I’ll give him a taste of Dwarvish iron right up his jacksy.” Ori proclaimed bravely before Dori pulled him back down into his seat.

 

“Sit down!” Dori exclaimed, everyone laughing and teasing Ori for his brave proclamation.

 

“The task will be difficult enough with an army behind us. But we number just thirteen. Not thirteen of the best, nor brightest.” Balin added and everyone began to object loudly to his words.

 

“Who are you calling dim?”

 

“Watch it!”

 

“No!”

 

“We may be few in number, but we’re fighters, all of us, to the last dwarf!” Fili yelled to be heard over the din.

 

“And you forget, we have a wizard in our company. Gandalf will have killed hundreds of dragons in his time.” Kili piped up with a grin. Gandalf froze for a moment, eyes wide with shock.

 

“Oh, well, now, I wouldn’t say-“ He began but Dori promptly cut him off.

 

“How many, then?”

 

“I, uh, what?”

 

I watched the exchange, amused to no ends as Gandalf was put on the spot but things quickly got heated again and I figured I should speak up and tell them I had fought dragons.

 

“I have fought dragons before!” I shouted loudly and everyone got quiet, Thorin turning slowly to face me.

 

“What was that?” He demanded hoarsely.

 

“I have fought dragons before. Mind you, they were females, High dragons, and smaller than some of the other dragons that live, but I have fought them and killed them. I… got rather good at it, really. Part of what I’d been doing before involved clearing out nests and I got paid hefty sums to deal with the dragons.” I said with a slight shrug. To me, it was honestly nothing outstanding, but I guess to them, it was a very big deal because they all started getting worked up again and yelling all sorts of questions when Thorin bellowed loudly, silencing everyone.

 

“Atkât! If we have read these signs, do you not think that others will have read them too? Rumors have begun to spread. The dragon Smaug has not been seen for sixty years. Eyes look east to the Mountain, assessing, wondering, weighing the risk. Perhaps the vast wealth of our people now lies unprotected. Do we sit back while others claim what is rightfully ours? Or do we seize this chance to take back Erebor? Du Bekâr! Du Bekâr!” Thorin’s voice was powerful and loud, his speech full of passion so much so that even I was ready to leap to arms to fight. The dwarves were all cheering loudly at his words, though Balin still seemed to be the voice of reason of the group.

 

“You forget: the front door is sealed. There is no way into the mountain.”

 

“That, my dear Balin, is not entirely true.” Gandalf smiled and produced a key from seemingly out of nowhere. It was dwarfish, that much was obvious, and it was ornately wrought too, so it was for something rather special I guessed. I lost interest fairly quickly in the conversation, feeling rather antsy and eager to get moving. I didn’t like staying in one place too long and would prefer to at least be up and moving about, thought it would probably be rude if I just stood up and began pacing while I waited on them to finish discussing things.

 

“And a good one too. An expert, I’d imagine.”

 

My attention was drawn back to the conversation as talk of burglars was brought up.

 

“Yes, Bilbo’s right. An expert burglar is what you’ll need to even manage to get in wherever it is you need to go.” I added in, thankful that I was a skilled in the ways of a rogue. There were times when I’d have to steal or pick locks to access things to get by and survive, so I was fairly efficient in the arts of thievery.

 

“And are you two?” Gloin asked.

 

“Yes, I’m quite skilled in the burglar business.” I was smugger about it than I should have been to be honest, but knowing that the dwarves needed someone like me to help them made me more than thrilled with the situation.

 

“Am I what?” Bilbo asked with a puzzled frown, not quite with what was going on.

 

“He said he’s an expert! Hey hey!” Oin grinned widely and everyone started talking all at once again. I really hoped they didn’t do this a lot, I wasn’t sure my ears or head could take the noise.

 

“Me? No, no, no. I’m not a burglar; I’ve never stolen a thing in my life.” Bilbo protested quickly.

 

“I’m afraid I have to agree with Mr. Baggins. He’s hardly burglar material and we do have Ms. Ashanna here to do the burglar work.” Balin spoke up, giving me a nod and Bilbo a nod, whom returned it with a grateful look on his face.

 

“Aye, the wild is no place for gentlefolk who can neither fight nor fend for themselves.” Dwalin agreed coolly. Bilbo was still nodding in agreement while the dwarves began to argue amongst themselves as to whether one burglar would be enough or if they did need two and I was sick of it. I didn’t want to hear anymore arguing.

 

“Enough! If I say Bilbo Baggins is a burglar, then a burglar he is.” Gandalf had seemed to grow with power, the light around him diming considerably; his voice louder than normal and even I took a step back from the angry wizard. Everyone stopped yelling, arguing and just being loud in general, unsure of how to react to Gandalf’s anger. Once everyone calmed down, Gandalf returned to his normal self.

 

“Hobbits are remarkably light on their feet. In fact, they can pass unseen by most if they choose. And while the dragon is accustomed to the smell of dwarf, Bilbo’s scent as well as Ashanna’s is all but unknown to him, which gives us a distinct advantage. You asked me to find you a fourteenth member of this company, and I have found you two more members, both of which I trust deeply. There’s a lot to go on Mr. Baggins than appearances suggest, and he’s got a great deal more to offer than any of you know, including himself. You must trust me on this.” Gandalf continued more calmly though Thorin still looked slightly annoyed.

 

“Very well. We’ll do it your way. Give him the contract.” Thorin grumbled.

 

“Gandalf, I’m going to step outside for a little air. I feel like I’m suffocating in here.” I murmured softly to the wizard and strode for the door, throwing it open and closing it softly behind me. The cool air felt wonderful on my warm, flushed skin and I felt relieved to be out of the crowd, even it was just for a few moments. A soft bleating caught my attention and I walked over to my halla, stroking his nose softly and giving him an apple from my pack.

 

“ _Ir abelas_ for taking so long, but I am afraid things are still not done. Bilbo is looking over his contract as we speak and I could not stay in there any longer.” I whispered to the stag, resting my forehead on his soft, white, and fluffy neck, breathing in the woodsy, animalistic scent of my halla. I heard the door open and I quickly pulled him back, hiding just in case it was Thorin.

 

“Not to worry my dear girl, it is only me. I did allow Thorin to know that the mount you had would be rather unusual. Tomorrow we will reveal your elven nature to him. Be prepared for an onslaught of anger, but in time he will get over it.” Gandalf said and I sighed softly, thanking my friend and allowed him to lead me back inside after I patted down my halla and got him ready to sleep for the night. When we came back in, Bilbo had vanished and the dwarves were all sitting quietly around the fireplace, smoking their pipes and Thorin began to sing.

 

“ _Far over the Misty Mountains cold, to dungeons deep and caverns old, we must away ere break of day to find our long forgotten gold. The pines were roaring on the height, the winds were moaning in the night, the fire was red, it flaming spread the torches blazed with light._ ”

 

The song was sad but beautiful and it stuck with me as I settled back against the wall of the dining room, the wood firm against my back and I slowly closed my eyes, still a raw bundle of nerves about what tomorrow would bring.


	5. So the Journey Begins

It was still dark out when I woke up and crept out of Bilbo’s home, careful to not step on any sleeping dwarves and I headed over to my halla, settling down on the ground next to him and resting my head on his side, closing my eyes for a moment. I wasn’t sure how to reveal myself to Thorin and now I wasn’t sure if I wanted to. He would be angry with Gandalf for bringing me and he’d be angry at the others for not saying anything to him about me being an elf and it’s not something I was looking forward to. Gandalf came walking outside, looking around and I rose to my feet, greeting him in a soft voice.

 

“Today is the day we set out, it is also the day we reveal to Thorin what I really am. How are we going to do this Gandalf? He’s going to be very angry you know.” I said, accepting the roll he handed to me along with a knife and butter.

 

“Quite right, I should think, but I have the feeling if you are just as confident as you were last night, you’ll be fine.” He smiled kindly, lighting up his pipe as we sat there quietly, watching the sun rise.

 

“Everyone will be awake soon. Shall I meet you all by the inn like planned?” I rose to my feet, eager to get going before anyone, namely Thorin, came outside to see where Gandalf and I had gotten off to. After a few more moment of speaking quietly, I mounted my halla and rode away to get some supplies from the inn.

 

~*~*~

 

The sun had finally risen completely and I saw Thorin and company approaching, so I mounted my halla, pulled my hair up into a ponytail and rode towards them. As I got closer, I waved them down, calling out to Gandalf that I was sorry for being late, and the look on Thorin’s face was just as I expected it to be: angry and confused.

 

“Gandalf what is the meaning of this? Are you to tell me we hired an _elf_ to join us?” He demanded furiously and I winced a little at his tone.

 

“You were in awe of me last night, my lord. I may be Dalish but I do not share the same views of the high elves. Dalish have not ever had a problem with dwarves.” I said crossly.

 

 _This was a terrible idea. I should have stayed in my camp and kept working mercenary jobs._ I thought with a huff.

 

“And where were your people when Smaug attacked?” Thorin demanded furiously, steel eyes flashing with anger.

 

“My people lived too far apart! The clans would not have made it in time! My Keeper wanted to help, but there were so few of us and we were _too far away_!” I shouted at him, my silver eyes narrowed with hatred and contempt. I was not in the mood to be trifled with or compared to the other elves that chose to not help the dwarves in their time of need. The others shifted uncomfortably on their ponies, worried with how this was going to end and I didn’t blame them one bit. Thorin was speechless, his mouth working, trying to find something to say, some retort he could sling at me, but nothing came.

 

“That’s what I thought, m’lord. Like it or not, I have signed my contract and I will be working with you to restore your home to you. Dislike me if you must because of my race, but it does no good.”

 

“Why help us elf, what is it you want?” He asked coldly.

 

“Everyone deserves a home they can call their own. Even you, Thorin Oakenshield. Now if we’re to begin traveling, let us go. Unless you have anything else you would like to say?”

 

His steely gaze met my silvery cold one, neither of us wavering in our gazes and finally, he shook his head slowly.

 

“No elf, I have nothing left to say to you.”

 

“My name is Ashanna. Remember it and use it when you speak to me, _durgen’len_.” I warned the dwarf prince coolly, clicked my tongue and nudged my halla, falling into place beside Gandalf as we began to ride down a trail, Thorin in the lead.

 

“Wait! Wait!”

 

We pulled our mounts to a halt, surprised to see Bilbo come running up to us, his contract gripped in his hand and he stopped in front of Balin, panting hard and grinning a bit.

 

“I signed it!” Bilbo puffed while Balin inspected the contract with a pocket-glass, smiling as he folded up the parchment and tucked it away.

 

“Everything appears to be in order. Welcome, Mister Baggins, to the company of Thorin Oakenshield.” Balin said and I could see Thorin was fairly unimpressed but the others were thrilled and cheered that Bilbo would be joining us.

 

“Give him a pony.” Thorin grunted but Bilbo instantly got panicked and protested loudly before Fili and Kili rode up behind him, picked him up and dropped him onto a pony. He looked terrified as we began to ride again and it was painfully obvious he’d never ridden a pony before. I slowed my halla down and rode next to him so as to make him feel better about riding.

 

“Come on, Nori, pay up.” Oin called and soon bags of gold were being tossed about as we rode on, mumbled curses coming from some of the dwarves and triumphant laughs coming from others.

 

“What’s that about?” Bilbo asked curiously, making me laugh out loud.

 

“Oh, they took wagers on whether or not you’d turn up. Most of them bet you wouldn’t.” Gandalf replied.

 

“What did you think?” Bilbo asked him when a bag of gold came flying towards Gandalf and myself, both of us catching our gold happily.

 

“My dear fellow, I never doubted you for a second.”

 

“Neither did I.” I grinned down at the surprised hobbit and he returned my grin with an easy going smile of his own.

 

“You placed a bet too, then?”

 

“Normally I don’t lower myself to gambling with dwarves, but this time I just couldn’t resist.” I chuckled, bouncing the sack of gold in my hand a few times, smirking to myself before putting the gold away in my bag.

 

~*~*~

 

Night had fallen and we had found ourselves camped on the edge of a cliff for the night. Most everyone was asleep aside from Gandalf, Fili, Kili, Bilbo and I. I was standing by the very edge, watching out for any sign of trouble, my elf sight much better than anyone else’s here, so it only made sense I stood first watch. Bilbo had gotten up and was over by the ponies, feeding his pony Myrtle an apple and talking to her softly. Suddenly, a strange sound caught our ears and I clenched my fists tightly. I knew that sound very well and it was not a sound I liked to hear.

 

“What was that?” Bilbo demanded, walking over to Kili and Fili hurriedly.

 

“Orcs.” Kili and I said, my voice tight with emotion and I grabbed my bow just in case, gripping the smooth wood in my hand. Thorin, who had been dozing, jerked awake at the word orcs and stood up quickly.

 

“Orcs?” Bilbo looked at us with wide eyes.

 

“Throat-cutters. There’ll be dozens of them out there. The lowlands are crawling with them.” Fili added quietly.

 

“They strike in the wee small hours, when everyone’s asleep. Quick and quiet; no screams, just lots of blood.” Kili said and when Bilbo looked away, frightened, he and Fili looked at each other and laughed.

 

“You think that’s funny? You think a night raid by orcs is a joke?” Thorin demanded angrily and I silently agreed with him. Orcs were no laughing matter.

 

“We didn’t mean anything by it.” Kili muttered, looking away from his uncle.

 

“No, you didn’t. You know nothing of the world.” Thorin snapped and walked over to stand by me.

 

“Do you see anything? Anything at all?” He asked in a quiet voice.

 

“No, nothing. But if any of those things come up here, I’ll give my life to stop them.” I spat on the ground, my fiery gaze sweeping over the horizon. Thorin nodded and kept watch with me, neither of us talking but both of us listening as Balin told the story of how they tried to take Moria back.

 

“Moria had been taken by legions of Orcs, led by the most vile of all their race: Azog, the Defiler. The giant Gundobad Orc had sworn to wipe out the line of Durin. He began by beheading the king.”

 

I stiffened up at the mention of Azog and I whirled about, eyes wide and my breathe caught in my chest.

 

“Did you say Azog? Balin, tell me you did not say that beast’s name.” I choked out and Balin nodded slowly.

 

“Aye lass, I did. I take it you know of the pale Orc?”

 

“Yes. I know of him.” I said and listened to the end of the tale. Everyone was awake now and staring at Thorin in awe.

 

“But the pale orc? What happened to him?” Bilbo asked the question I was wondering.

 

“He slunk back into the whence he came. That filth died of his wounds long ago.”

 

“Good. I wish I had been the one to do him in, but I am… glad it was you who did it.” I spoke up, my words making everyone pause and look at me.

 

“You said you knew of the pale Orc. How exactly did you know of him?” Balin asked curiously and I looked away, taking a moment to compose myself.

 

“He murdered my clan. Azog hunted down every Dalish clan and brutally slaughtered us. I watched him cut my father down and if it weren’t for Gandalf, I would have suffered the same fate. I was grief stricken; I had watched as the beast smashed my father’s ribs into bits and then beheaded him, so in my rage, I drew my daggers and charged the monster, but Gandalf dragged me back and threw me onto my halla so I wouldn’t die. Now I’m the last of the People and I have that filth to thank for that.” I wasn’t ready to talk in detail about what happened, though it had happened so long ago now.

 

 _I’m sure the trees I planted have grown and beautifully at that. I hope they’re still up and that humans haven’t cut them down. I should go visit them once this is done._ I thought to myself as I turned back to face away from the camp so they could not see tears fall down my face as I mourned my loss once more.


	6. Trolls

_Glad I brought my cloak along. Blasted rain._

 

It was pouring rain and I was none too pleased about it. If I had been in my _ara’vel_ , warm and cozy, then perhaps it would be more enjoyable, but I did not have that luxury at the moment. We were soaked to the bone and miserable and it stank something terrible of wet pony and halla, the stench making me crinkle my nose up a bit.

 

“Mr. Gandalf, can’t you do something about this deluge?” Dori questioned Gandalf, completely drenched and very unhappy as he rode past us.

 

“It is raining, Master Dwarf, and it will continue to rain until the rain is done. If you wish to change the weather of the world, you should find yourself another wizard.”

 

I smiled a little as Bilbo and Gandalf talked about other wizards and whatnot, lost in my own thoughts. The day had gotten off to a rough start; Thorin and I had argued once again on what paths to take and it ended with him calling me a knife-ears and I told him where he could stick his sword in a rather crude manner, then it began to pour and now, after the weather cleared up and we had stopped at an abandoned farm, Gandalf was storming off after an argument with Thorin.

 

 _No surprises there. Damn dwarf is too stubborn for his own good._ I thought sourly as I brushed Snowhoof down, getting muck and mud off of his brilliant white coat. Once I was done, I cleaned his cloven hooves, gave him an apple and allowed him to go off on his own. Gandalf had still not returned and I knew Bilbo was worried. I was too, though I’d only ever admit that to Gandalf himself. I watched closely as Bofur handed Bilbo two bowls and I stole away, hiding in the shadows, following him from a safe distance until we were away from camp.

 

“Wait up Bilbo!” I walked quickly to catch up and fell in step with the hobbit, taking a bowl from him so he didn’t have to carry both.

 

“I didn’t see you catch up, how did you do that?”

 

“I’m trained in the arts of being a rogue. Lock picking, duel weaponry, thievery, sneaking about quietly and blending into the shadows are skills I acquired after losing my clan and had to deal with _shemlen_ , humans, to get work to support myself so I could survive. Ended up running with a couple of Qunari and their mercenary band for a while. The Iron Bull and his Chargers. Good group, good people. Knew his girl before I met him actually. Tatianna Adaar was a Tal-Vashoth whom my people did some work with whenever she was nearby. She taught me everything I needed to know.” I shrugged and we stopped when we got to Kili and Fili.

 

“What’s the matter?”

 

The two of them were staring out into the dark and didn’t take the soup when we tried to hand it to them.

 

“We’re supposed to be looking out for the ponies.” Kili said with a frown.

 

“Only we’ve encountered a slight problem. We had sixteen. Now there’s fourteen.”

 

We examined the small herd, all of us mentally trying to figure out who was missing, when I noticed a tree had been knocked over, the roots exposed and I slowly walked over to it, kneeling down and inspected the tree while the others talked.

 

“I think we may have a problem here. We need to get Thorin.” My voice was low and I slowly stood back up, eyeing the woods suspiciously as Kili, Fili and Bilbo walked over.

 

“Hey! There’s a light. Over here! Stay down.” Fili said before he and Kili went sprinting off. I cursed and followed after them, cursing the stupidity of dwarves, swearing if they got us killed, I’d be rather angry about it. When I smelled smoke, I knew it was a fire and I threw myself behind a tree, landing on the ground softly, bracing myself on my hands and making sure I was quiet while Kili and Fili hid with me and Bilbo hid behind another tree. There was harsh laughter and a horrid stench that reached my nose, my stomach clenching and churning at the rotten smell.

 

“What is it?” Bilbo whispered, eyes wide as saucers and still holding onto the two bowls of soup.

 

“Trolls.” Kili whispered back. Trolls were nasty creatures, though they rarely came down this low. We watched on as a mountain troll walked past with two more ponies under his arms, the poor things squealing and fighting to get free from the troll’s grasp.

 

“He’s got Myrtle and Minty! I think they’re going to eat them, we have to do something.” Bilbo hissed.

 

“Yes; you should. Mountain trolls are slow and stupid, and you’re so small they’ll never see you.” Kili nodded enthusiastically, pushing Bilbo forward after he and Fili took the soup from him.

 

“No, no, no…”

 

“It’s perfectly safe! We’ll be right behind you.”

 

“If you run into trouble, hoot twice like a barn owl, once like a brown owl.”

 

I glared at the two dwarves, shook my head and put a comforting hand on Bilbo’s shoulder.

 

“I’ll be with you, Bilbo, don’t fret.” I murmured and lead the way after shooting Kili and Fili a dirty look.

 

_If this dragon doesn’t kill them, I bloody well will._

 

~*~*~

 

Chaos was not a thing that I liked very much, especially when that chaos involves three mountain trolls, thirteen dwarves, a hobbit and myself. Bilbo got caught despite my best efforts to help him and now we were fighting three trolls. This was a mess.

 

“Ah! Shit!” I yelped as a large, meaty hand smacked into me, sending me flying forward and slamming me into Dori. We scrambled to our feet and I whirled my _dar’misu_ about, hacking and slashing at their skin, growling out curses in between attacks. Suddenly, I found myself high in the air, my arms and legs being held by two of the trolls.

 

“Ashanna!” Kili yelled and the dwarves quickly halted in their fighting, staring up at me, afraid of what could happen.

 

“Lay down your arms, or we’ll rip hers off.” One of the trolls said menacingly while the other two pulled on my arms slightly. I cringed at the feeling, but I refused to react, keeping my face stoic so the dwarves wouldn’t worry.

 

“Do not drop your arms! Let them rip mine off, I’m expendable. Thorin, you’ve got a quest to finish and I won’t let you throw it away for my sake.” I bellowed loudly, struggling against the trolls grip. I couldn’t place the look on Thorin’s face but he dropped his sword and the others followed suit. I screamed at him to pick their weapons up and fight, but they did nothing, though Kili did look like he was thinking about listening to me. The trolls tied some of the dwarves and Bilbo up in sacks while the rest of us were tied to a spit and were going to be roasted.

 

_Damn it all. Why didn’t they listen? And what was that look on Thorin’s face. It wasn’t frustration, but I can’t figure out what it was._

 

“Why bother cooking them? Let’s just sit on them and squash them into jelly.” The troll named William asked in a whiney tone.

 

“They should be sautéed and grilled with a sprinkle of sage.” Bert I believed was this one’s name shot back with a nasty grin on his face. William thought about it for a moment, then nodded happily.

 

“Ooh, that does sound quite nice.”

 

“Elf doesn’t taste good sautéed though, Bert. She should be fried.”

 

My eyes went wide and I began to panic like the dwarves.

 

“Never mind the seasoning; we ain’t got all night! Dawn ain’t far away, so let’s get a move on. I don’t fancy being turned into stone.” Tom snapped at his brothers.

 

“Wait! You’re making a terrible mistake.” Bilbo cried, standing up as best as he could in a sack.

 

“You can’t reason with them, they’re half-wits.” Dori sighed. Bofur snorted in amusement and fear and glanced at Dori.

 

“Half-wits? What does that make us?” He asked. Bilbo ignored both of them, focused on the trolls.

 

“I meant with the, uh, with the seasoning.” 

 

“What about the seasoning?”

 

The trolls frowned, staring Bilbo down hard and I wondered what that little hobbit was up to.

 

“Well have you smelt them? You’re going to need something stronger than sage before you plate this lot up.”

 

I had to admit, even I was a little angry at what Bilbo said, yelling along with the dwarves that he was insane and a traitor.

 

“What do you know about cooking dwarf?”

 

“Shut up. Let the, uh, flurgaburburrahobbit talk.”

 

“Uh, the secret to cooking dwarf is, um-“ Bilbo was thinking hard to figure out what to tell this troll and I knew he had to have a plan. The cheeky devil was setting them up for something!

 

“Yes? Come on, tell us the secret.”

 

“Um, yes, I’m telling you, the secret is… to skin them first! And gently roast the elf before frying her.”

 

“Traitor!” I howled furiously while the others threatened to beat him and kill him, but Bilbo ignored all of us, his gaze never leaving the troll’s for very long.

 

“Tom, get me the filleting knife.”

 

“What a load of rubbish! I’ve eaten plenty with their skins on. Scuff them, I say, boots and all.” Tom snorted, annoyed by how long this was taking to decide.

 

“He’s right! Nothing wrong with a bit of raw dwarf! Nice and crunchy.” William added in before grabbing Bombur and dangled him over his open mouth, about to eat the poor dwarf.

 

“Not that one, he’s infected!” Bilbo yelled loudly.

 

“You what?”

 

“He’s got worms in his… tubes.”

 

 _Ah so that’s Bilbo’s game. He’s trying to stall them until dawn._ I couldn’t help but grin after figuring out his plan. He was cleverer than I thought him to be. William dropped Bombur on the others in disgust, sickened by the imaginary worms.

 

“In fact they all have it; they’re all infected with parasites. It’s a terrible business; I wouldn’t risk it, I really wouldn’t.” Bilbo explained a hurried tone.

 

“Parasites, did he say parasites?” Oin asked while Kili looked ready to murder Bilbo.

 

“We don’t have parasites! You have parasites!” He yelled, cross with Bilbo and not getting the plan at all. None of the others seemed to get it either and they all called Bilbo a fool and they didn’t have parasites, and I swear Bilbo nearly broke something with how hard he rolled his eyes as they messed things up. Thankfully, Thorin got the idea and he kicked the ones in sacks around him. The message got through rather fast and suddenly, everyone was yelling over how big their parasites were.

 

“I’ve got parasites as big as my arm!”

 

“Mine are the biggest parasites, I’ve got huge parasites!”

 

“What would you have us do, then, let ‘em all go?” Tom asked, getting fairly close to Bilbo and glaring down at him. He shrugged, not really looking at the troll and nodded.

 

“Well…”

 

“You think I don’t know what you’re up to? This little ferret is taking us for fools!” Tom growled, furious when he realized Bilbo’s little trick.

 

“Ferret?” Bilbo was indignant at the insult thrown his way.

 

“Fools?” Bert just looked confused and then there was Gandalf, standing on a rock and I was never more happy to see the old wizard than at that moment in time.

 

“The dawn will take you all!” He cried out.

 

“Who’s that?”

 

“No idea.”

 

“Can we eat him too?”

 

Gandalf struck the rock he was on with his staff, splitting it in half to let the sun come pouring into the clearing. The trolls screamed as the sunlight touched their skin, turning them into stone and Gandalf came down to the clearing, rescuing us from the sacks and the spit.


	7. Is This a Crush?

Once we were down and free, I marched up to Thorin, angry and confused and tapped him on the shoulder.

 

“I’d like a word with you. Alone.” I growled through clenched teeth, spun on my heel and marched to the woods, waiting on Thorin. He walked over, his stride confident but the look on his face said he’d rather stab himself in the foot than speak with me.

 

“Why didn’t you let the trolls kill me? My death would have given you time to escape.” I hissed at him.

 

“You are not expendable. Despite everything I have said to you, we do need you in the company.” Thorin sounded weary and I had to admit, I was taken off guard.

 

“I… Thank you for that, but you have Bilbo. You could have lost a burglar and still been okay.” I sighed, running my fingers through my dirty, tangled blonde hair.

 

“I am not overly confident in Mister Baggins’ burglaring abilities. You, at least, are useful.”

 

I stiffened up at the backhanded compliment, my scowl coming right back on to my face and Thorin rolled his eyes at my reaction.

 

“Calm down, elf, I meant nothing by it.”

 

“Do you remember what I said not too terribly long ago? Well I’ll repeat myself in case you forgot: take your sword and stuff it up your arse.” I spat before storming away from him to check on the ponies to make sure they were alright. I was shaking angrily by the time I made it over to the ponies; how dare that ungrateful bastard treat me like this? Who did he think he was?

 

“Ashanna? Are you alright?”

 

I looked up from Minty and saw Kili staring at me with concern on his face.

 

“I… Yes, I am fine Kili. Thank you for asking, I… appreciate it. And how do you fare after that ordeal?” I asked him with a shy smile.

 

“I think I’ll live.” He grinned while helping me look over the ponies, checking them thoroughly for any injuries. Thankfully, they seemed alright, so I relaxed and quit fussing over them. Most of the others had gone into the troll’s cave, though I was loathe to go anywhere near a place those monsters had lived in, so I waited outside with Bilbo, Kili and Fili.

 

“Are you alright, Bilbo? You look fairly shaken up.” I murmured, taking a seat next to the hobbit, tucking my legs under me and leaned my elbow on a large boulder.

 

“Yes, I think I’m alright. Thank you for asking Ashanna. Are you alright? Those trolls had quite the grip on your arms and legs.”

 

I pulled up the sleeve of my dress and winced when I saw how purple my skin was from the trolls holding me as tight as they could. Bilbo let out a hissing sound when he noticed the bruising and took a look at it.

 

 

“Will you be able to fight like this?” Fili asked, kneeling down to examine my arm, a frown on his face.

 

“I’ve had much worse to tell the truth and did fine, so this is truly nothing to worry about.” I was trying to play it off like I was really okay, but in reality I thought the trolls might have really done some damage. My arms felt like they were on fire and using them a lot would really be a nightmare. Finally, the rest of the company came out and Fili went over to speak with Thorin, glancing back at me a few times as they spoke. I tried to ignore the way Thorin was staring at me, focusing on getting Snowhoof settled and ready to go again now that the trolls had been vanquished and we could finally move along.

 

“Something’s coming.” Thorin yelled, drawing his sword, an elven sword much to my surprise, and the group gathered together quickly, drawing weapons just in case.

 

“Stick together! Hurry now. Arm yourselves.” Gandalf was calm as the dwarves charged off into the woods, leaving Bilbo and I behind. I clicked at Snow and he dashed away, but every jarring motion and bump made me whine a little at how sore I was. As soon as I had caught up, a man that must have been Radagast came bursting through the brush on a sled pulled by rabbits.

 

“Thieves! Fire! Murder!” He yelled and Gandalf looked fairly surprised to see his friends here. The dwarves all looked befuddled and I was a little puzzled as well. What was Radagast the Brown doing here of all places?

 

“Radagast! Radagast the Brown. What on earth are you doing here?” Gandalf questioned his friend, and the man stepped off of his sled and hurried over to Gandalf.

 

“I was looking for you, Gandalf. Something’s wrong. Something’s terribly wrong.” Radagast was wound tightly and very excitable it seemed, but the way he spoke did have me concerned.

 

“Yes?”

 

We watched in amazement as Radagast opened his mouth to speak, then shut it. He opened his mouth again, shut it once more, a puzzled look on his face.

 

“Just give me a minute. Oh, I had a thought, and now I’ve lost it. It was right there, on the tip of my tongue.” His face went from puzzled to surprised very quickly and I wondered what he had remembered.

 

“Oh, it’s not a thought at all; it’s just a little-“

 

Gandalf pulled a little bug out of his mouth much to our disgust and Radagast smiled at it a little after taking it from Gandalf.

 

“-stick insect!”

 

While Gandalf and Radagast went to speak privately, Thorin pulled me off to the side, gentle about touching my arm which I found odd but rather sweet.

 

“Fili says you were hurt pretty badly during the encounter with the trolls. Let me see.” And without even waiting for me to say it was alright, he lifted the sleeve of my dress and swore softly.

 

“Why did you say nothing sooner?” He asked, concern the only expression on his face as he held my arm gently in his hands. I felt my ears turn red from embarrassment, the heat traveling from my ears down to my face and I wanted nothing more than to hide somewhere.

 

“It… It is… Thorin, do not worry, I’ll be fine, I swear it. They are merely bruises and nothing to worry about. Though… I do appreciate the concern.” I mumbled shyly, highly embarrassed that my face was so red. He actually smiled a little and nodded slowly, looking my arms over one last time.

 

“Try to be a little more careful, Ashanna. I really would hate to see something happen to you.” He walked off, leaving me standing there with a red face that burned hot and a heart that couldn’t stop racing.


	8. Rivendell At Last

Gandalf and Radagast were still speaking privately when I felt chills run down my spine; something was coming and whatever it was was truly evil. I slowly reached for one of my daggers I kept tucked away in my boot, drawing it and hiding it up my sleeve, listening hard. A howl cut through the still air, confirming that something was most assuredly here.

 

“Was that a wolf? Are there wolves out here?” Bilbo asked, looking around at everyone. I straightened up, got on Snowhoof’s back and had my weapon at the ready.

 

“Wolves? No, that is not a wolf.” Bofur said. At that moment, a warg appeared, leaping into the middle of the company, snarling and frothing at the mouth. Snow reared up, letting out the trumpeting shriek that was common of his kind and I found myself sliding off and hitting the ground as he bolted. The warg turned, eyeing me and charged, its powerful jaws snapping at my arm. I slashed at it, the steel of my blade cutting deep into its face, the squeal that it emitted putting a feral grin on my face. Thorin struck the warg that decided I’d make a better target than dwarves and the elven blade he wielded bit right into the warg’s flesh, killing it. Another warg came leaping out, snarling loudly then shrieking when Kili fired an arrow at it, bringing it down. I quickly rose to my feet as it got back up on its feet, my blades raised as I poised myself to attack, when Dwalin slammed his weapon down onto its head, killing it.

 

“Warg-Scouts! Which means an Orc pack is not far behind!”

 

I was too busy looking for Snow to care about what the dwarves and Gandalf were talking about, calling for him in elvish, nearly in tears. I’d lost one halla companion, I was not about to lose another.

 

“Who did you tell about your quest, beyond your kin?” Gandalf demanded of Thorin, though he shook his head in response, wide eyed and angry.

 

“No one.”

 

“Who did you tell?”

 

“No one, I swear. What in Durin’s name is going on?”

 

“You are being hunted.”

 

I moved away from the dwarves, frantic in my search for Snow, wondering why he bolted and where he went to.

 

“Snow!” I called again, listening for him, but there was only silence. He was gone, though whether he was dead or alive was unknown to me, I could only hope for the best.

 

“Ashanna! We have to go!” Thorin had come running up and grabbed my wrist, tugging me along after him.

 

“Thorin, I can’t leave without Snow! He’ll be killed!” I cried, fighting against his grip, digging my heels into the ground stubbornly.

 

“If he is as smart as I think, he will be fine. Now move, woman!”

 

I refused to budge and with an irritated huff, he picked me up and threw me over his shoulder and began to run after the others, quickly catching up with them and heading the group with Gandalf. I was both angry for being pulled away from my search and, well, impressed really that Thorin could still run while carrying me. I was light, but still, it couldn’t be easy.

 

“Come on!” Gandalf yelled as we ran across a rocky plane, hiding behind outcroppings of rocks when we needed to and I was feeling rather ill from being treated like a sack of potatoes.

 

“Thorin, put me down, I can run thank you very much.” I informed him rather loudly in his ear and he gently set me down on my feet, steadying me as I regained myself.

 

“You won’t go dashing off to find that deer of yours?”

 

“He is a halla, not a simple deer and no, I won’t go dashing off to find him.” I grumbled, following after everyone, my legs screaming their protest as we sprinted and I cursed, forgetting how bruised they were from the trolls.

 

“Where are you leading us?” Thorin asked Gandalf, a suspicious look on his face but Gandalf ignored him, choosing to keep leading the way and we took cover under another group of rocks. As we stood close together, listening, a warg and its Orc rider had come up on the rock, scenting for us, when Thorin nodded at Kili. He readied an arrow, took a breath to ready himself and stepped out, shooting the warg, which tumbled down by us , rider and all, and I took that moment to slash with my blade, a snarl on my face as the Orc and I fought. His blade ripped through the belly of my dress, leaving behind torn fabric and a line of blood that began to run down my pale skin and over the white dress I had on.

 

“That was my favorite dress! Actually, that was my _only_ dress and it was damn _expensive_!” I growled, resorting to kicking his feet out from under him and slamming my blade into the damned things chest, twisting in deep, making sure I got the heart. The others took of the warg pretty quickly and a howl signaled that the Orcs heard our fight and figured out where we were. With a curse, I placed a boot on the dead Orc’s chest and pulled my blade off, using what was left of the tattered, gossamer material of my outfit to clean my blade off and we started running again.

 

“There they are!” Gloin yelled as wargs and their riders appeared, surrounding us on all sides, but we pushed on, running hard and fast, Gandalf leading the way to a clearing, where we halted when we saw we were surrounded.

 

“There’s more coming!” Kili shouted, looking all around us frantically.

 

“Kili! Shoot them!” Thorin yelled and I pulled my bow out as well, standing opposite sides of Kili and we began to shoot them down, ice exploding on impact from my arrows, freezing the Orcs and wargs.

 

“We’re surrounded!” Fili shouted, fighting and killing another warg and rider.

 

“Where’s Gandalf?” Kili added, snagging a couple of my arrows and using those. Everything seemed to slow down as I felt my legs give way, sending me collapsing to the ground, light headed and weak from blood loss, my eyes rolled back into my skull and that was it, I was down for the count.

 

~*~*~

 

When I came to, I could feel soft sheets under my body and a warm hand gripping mine tightly, but I still couldn’t quite open up my eyes right away, my head pounding and body aching from everything I’d just put it through.

 

“When will she awake, Gandalf?”

 

“I think she already is. I did inform you her Uncle knew what he was doing. Give her some time to fully come to her senses. She will.”

 

I heard footsteps walk away and I slowly opened my eyes, wincing at the light and at the pounding headache that was throbbing behind my eyes.

 

“Oh… Where are we?” I mumbled, trying to sit up, but a familiar hand gently gripped my shoulder and pushed me back. I looked up and saw Thorin was sitting next to my bed, a concerned look on his face.

 

“Gandalf led us to Rivendell. I did not know Elrond was your Uncle.” He said, voice firm but soft.

 

“Yes. He is my mother’s eldest brother.” I replied groggily, looking about for some ale or something to drink.

 

“Here, they left you a plate of food and a cup of honeyed ale. Try to eat something.” Thorin murmured, helping me sit up and handed me the plate of fruits, meats and cheeses and I smiled at it, happy to know that despite most elves not eating meat, my uncle remembered Dalish did. I would have to remember to thank him for doing this for me.

 

“Thank you, Thorin. Tell me something; are the Orcs and wargs dead?”

 

“Aye, the elves killed them.”

 

“Good. I… apologize if I caused a bit of a scene, I truly did not mean to. I suppose that wound was a little deeper than I thought.” I made a face before taking a long drink from the honeyed ale, savoring its sweetness. Before Thorin could reply, all of the other dwarves came piling into the room, talking loudly and happily, all of them saying they were glad I’d survived.

 

“How long have we been here?” I asked with a slight tilt of my head, curious to know how long I’d been out.

 

“Only for a few hours, your Uncle got you patched up fairly quickly. Dinner should be starting soon, so you should dress and come join us.” Bilbo said with a warm smile. I returned it and nodded slowly.

 

“Of course. I suppose I should get up and get dressed then. Will you mind waiting outside for me?” I asked and everyone filed out, Thorin leaving last, glancing over his shoulder at me and paused for a moment.

 

“Will you be well enough to stand on your own?”

 

“Yes father, I’ll be fine.” I teased him gently, a grin on my face that amazingly enough, he returned before walking out. I shook my head and walked over to the chair that held my mother’s leather armor and I felt my smile vanish for a brief moment.

 

 _This is my mother’s armor. I had forgotten she left a set here with my Uncle. You can still see some of the marks she had gotten in it when she faced down the archdemon._ I gently touched the armor, honored that I was going to be allowed to take it for my own. Quickly, I stripped off the dress I’d been put in and pulled on the leathers; swiftly getting it all strapped up and buckled in the right places, grinning widely when I looked in the mirror. I looked so much like her in this armor and my heart ached. She would be proud of me for going on this journey. She had been forced into an adventure, becoming a Grey Warden and fighting the archdemon. Eventually, she made her way here after curing herself of the Taint and settled down with my father. I checked the boots over before putting them on, testing them to make sure they were still sturdy, and I smiled happily at how well they fit me, even after not being used for years. Once I determined I was ready, I walked out and chuckled when Kili’s eyes got wide and he hit Fili, nodding my way as I walked towards them. Soon, everyone was staring at me, my face turning pink at the attention I was getting.

 

“You look like a real warrior now, lass.” Balin smiled kindly and after thanking him, I lead the way to the dining hall, eager to speak with my Uncle about the armor.


	9. Leaving Rivendell Behind

“Good to see you up and about, little one.” Uncle Elrond smiled warmly as we approached him and Gandalf. I grinned widely and broke into a run, hugging my favorite uncle tightly.

 

“Thank you for the food and are you sure about giving me mother’s armor?” I asked him after we broke the hug.

 

“Of course, _da’len_ , you should be the one to wear it.” He replied and motioned for us to sit down. Thorin sat with his kin while I sat with my uncle and Gandalf, while the other high elves began to play music. I groaned internally at how slow the music was and wished I had some of our instruments from my people’s camp so I could play some more upbeat music than this.

 

“Change the tune why don’t you? I feel like I’m at a funeral!”

 

“Did somebody die?”

 

I watched as Bofur rose to his feet a huge grin on his face and I had the feeling something was about to happen.

 

“Alright, lads there’s only one thing for it.” He said and got up on the table they were eating at.

 

“There’s an inn, there’s an inn, there’s a merry old inn beneath an old grey hill. And there they brew a beer so brown, the Man in the Moon himself came down one night to drink his fill.”

 

I watched in horror and amusement as he stomped about the table, all of the dwarves singing now, throwing food and causing a huge mess in general, and I was rather embarrassed by their behavior. Gandalf only smiled while my Uncle looked a little annoyed at the antics, and the musicians stopped what they were doing, very puzzled at what was going on.

 

“ _The ostler has a tipsy cat that plays a five string fiddle; and up and down he saws his bow, now squeaking high, now purring low, now sawing in the middle. So the cat on the fiddle played hey-diddle-diddle, a jig that would wake the dead; he squeaked and sawed and quickened the tune, and the landlord shook the Man in the Moon: ‘it’s after three!’ he said._ ” 

 

At this point, I covered my face with a hand, embarrassed, while they continued to throw their food and act like fools, Gandalf chuckling and my Uncle just shaking his head slowly.

 

 _Oh by the Gods, I will never hear the end of this next time I visit._ I thought before excusing myself to go and explore a little bit. I hadn’t been here since I was small, so it would be nice to see if things had changed or not. I used to love coming to visit with mother when I was little, they were always kind to us here and some of the older elves would always sneak me little treats much to mother’s displeasure over it. I smiled softly, stopping in one the buildings that over looked the waterfall, appreciating the quiet beauty of this place.

 

_Living here wouldn’t be so bad, I suppose. And I could always go adventuring in case I got restless. Or maybe… maybe I’ll travel to Thedas and find mother’s old clan._

 

I was so absorb in my thoughts, I never noticed Thorin come walking up and lean on the railing next to me, looking out over Rivendell as well.

 

“I used to look forward to coming here when I was child. I had so much fun running around and causing mischief, getting treats from some of the elder elves who didn’t look down on the Dalish and I would play hide and seek with my cousins over… there.” I said when I did notice him. He didn’t say much, just nodded a little bit.

 

“It’s beautiful here, isn’t it?” I tried again to initiate conversation, wondering why he was here if he didn’t wish to speak.

 

“Yes. It is.” He finally said, glancing over my direction briefly before looking back out at the crystal blue waterfall.

 

“Um… Did you need something, Thorin? You usually don’t have much to do with me unless it’s to make sure I’m alright.” I finally asked him, turning to face him directly. There was silence for a moment before he turned to face me, and I sat down on the bench, wondering if this was going to be some lecture about being more careful or something of the sort, so when he cupped my face in his hands and kissed me, I was really taken off guard. The kiss was over just as quickly as it happened and he walked away, muttering to himself in dwarvish. I sat there, stunned, before placing the tips of my fingers on my lips, eyes wide with surprise.

 

~*~*~

 

It was morning and I was exhausted; I’d barely slept, tossing and turning fitfully thanks to some rather… unsettling thoughts. On a bright side, I’d found Snowhoof alive and well in the Rivendell stables and I stopped in to say good bye to him before we left Rivendell. I wasn’t going to drag him any further; he had been brave enough and deserved a rest. It saddened me of course, but I could ask no more of him.

 

“Be on your guard; we’re about to step over the edge of the Wild. Balin, you know these paths; lead on.”

 

“Why not let Ashanna lead? She knows them just as well, if not better than I.” Balin suggested with a wink. I beamed at the old dwarf, eager to at least be of some use other than messing things up. I watched Bilbo turn and longingly stare at Rivendell, silently wishing we could stay longer, too, but we had a quest and it needed to be completed.

 

“Master Baggins, I suggest that you keep up.” Thorin said before we began to walk again. We hiked over ranges, mountains and plains, stopping at night and leaving early the next morning and not stopping until the sun began to set.

 

“Here, let’s make camp. My people lived here for a while because of the natural hot springs littered around here. That and it’s well protected from anything that might try to attack us thanks to the maze of rocks.” I said when we made it to this large, spacious clearing that had multiple paths to multiple natural hot spring craters. Everyone began to set up camp, and I dug through my bag, grabbing some underclothes, a towel and my polish for my armor to clean it up and headed down one of the paths to bathe and soak my weary bones. It had been years since I’d been here and it was actually really nice to be back. When I saw my private pool that I used last time I was here, I dashed forward, set my things down on the large rock I would sunbathe on, stripped down and hopped into the deep water, sighing happily as I sank down up to my neck and closed my eyes with a contented sigh.

 

 _I never want to leave here again. I love these hot springs so much. I could feel my weariness melting away with the heat._ I floated in the water, eyes closed and breathing calmly when the sound of twigs snapping took my off guard. I screeched when Thorin appeared and dove under water, keeping my head up and glaring at the dwarf.

 

“Thorin! Creators, you scared me half to death!”

 

He had averted his gaze, looking up, face actually red with embarrassment.

 

“I apologize; I had not realized this is the spring you were going to.” He stammered, completely flustered and I couldn’t help but giggling a little.

 

“No, no, it’s fine, you just startled me, that’s all. Um… these springs are big enough for more than one person, so if you wish, you can join me.” I offered shyly. Dalish weren’t shy about sex or nudity, embracing it as a natural thing. A lot of Dalish would engage in casual sex or they’d bathe with the opposite sex without it being taboo, so it was something I’d grown up with and was quite used to. I wasn’t sure how Thorin or other dwarves felt about it though, so I’d hoped my offer didn’t seem too strange.

 

“If you’re sure you don’t mind.” He shrugged out of his tunic and set it with my clothes before removing his boots and other things. Before he dropped his small clothes, I turned away so he’d at least have some privacy, focusing on lathering my skin up with the elfroot and rose petals soap bar I’d made, loving the scent it left on me. I heard water splash and I knew he was in, so I quickly finished washing myself, set the bar on the rock and dove underwater to get my hair wet. When I popped back up, I smoothed my sopping wet blonde hair out of my face and wrung it out before swimming over to one of the boulders in the pool and sitting on it.

 

“How did your clan find this place?” Thorin asked, looking around in awe.

 

“I’m not sure, I was only thirteen when the hunters found it. We lived here for a long time, until I was about eighteen I believe. Can’t really remember why we left other than the Keeper said it was time to move on again.”

 

Things were awkward and had been since the kiss we shared before we left. I wanted to bring it up now that we were alone, but I didn’t really know how to.

 

“Thorin, about that kiss that happened the other day…” I trailed off at the look he gave me, closing my mouth quickly and cursing myself for bringing it up. He didn’t answer, choosing to wade over and pull me into another kiss, this time longer and deeper, hands cupping my face gently, but the kiss strong and demanding just like he was. I felt myself melt into a puddle, the kiss better than any I’ve ever had in my life. My hands rested on his broad chest as I sat there while we kissed and after what felt like a long time, he pulled away, both of us breathing hard, faces red and flushed.

 

“Oh.” I whispered, wanting him to do it again. And there it was; my first real crush.


	10. Much Too Close

A fierce storm raged around us as we walked the jagged, narrow path of the Misty Mountains, the rain making it almost impossible to see anything in front of our faces.

 

“Hold on!” Thorin roared so he could be heard over all the thunder. In the time since we’d left the hot springs, we would always end up brushing up against each other; fingers just barely touching as reached for the same item at the same time or just bumping into one another while packing camp up. My face would turn bright pink every time and Thorin would always smirk and practically swagger away, his chest puffed out and head held high as he snapped out orders and made sure we had everything we needed. Tonight was much different though; there were no casual touches, only grabs if someone almost slipped and fell or if someone stumbled in the dark over rocks. Bilbo nearly fell into a chasm when stone gave way under him, but Dwalin caught him in time, and steadied him on his feet.

 

“We must find shelter!”

 

“Watch out!”

 

We stopped as a huge boulder hurtle through the air and hit the mountainside above us, rocks crashing down around us as we pressed back against the mountain.

 

“This is no thunderstorm; it’s a thunder battle! Look!” Balin pointed and a stone giant reared up from a nearby mountain and rips a massive boulder from atop the mountain.

 

“Well bless me, the legends are true. Giants; Stone Giants!” Bofur yelled loudly, poking his head out to look at them. Stone Giants were new to me, but I’d most certainly faced normal giants before. Even went giant baiting with Bull and the Chargers before, which was fun. Sort of.

 

“Take cover you fool!” Thorin shouted at Bofur, pulling him back closer the mountain.

 

“What’s happening?” Kili shouted, trying to see what was going on. The first Giant threw a boulder through the air and another Giant appeared behind us and is hit in the head by the boulder. Thorin yelled for everyone to brace and hold on, and the rocks under our feet begin to crumble and fall from all the vibrations and from the impact of falling rocks. The ground split between some of us, part of the Company on one side and the rest on the other. As the two giants fought with their fists, we hung on as best as we could as we were all flung about. My feet slid across the wet, crumbling rocks, but I held on for dear life to Kili, clinging to his arm in terror. Once we were stable enough, we jumped to a different spot as a third stone giant appeared and threw a boulder at the head of one of the first two. It falls over after being it with a boulder and with how it fell, I thought it would crush us under its weight. The hurt Giant loses its footing tumbled down the chasm, roaring loudly and angrily as it fell.

 

“No! No! Kili! Ashanna!” I heard Thorin roar. They rushed to the spot where I assumed they thought we’d been crushed and saw we were okay, looking a lot happier to see we were alright.

 

“Where’s Bilbo? Where’s the Hobbit? There!” Bofur shouted frantically, pointing to where Bilbo was hanging onto the edge of the rock with just his fingers.

 

“Get him!” Dwalin yelled as Ori dives to the ground, trying to grab Bilbo’s arm, but Bilbo lost his grip and fell another few feet before he catches another handhold. I pursed my lips and shimmied down to get him, grabbing him around the waist and hoisting him up to the dwarves. I took a moment to catch my breath and ended up losing my balancing, falling back, an ear piercing shriek bursting from my lips as I scrabbled for a handhold. I found one and held it tightly, too scared to move.

 

 _Oh Creators, oh Creators, oh Creators, please don’t let me fall, please don’t let me fall. Oh gods._ I thought, frantically trying to reach Kili’s outstretched hand, my fingertips just barely brushing his.

 

“Don’t let me fall! Oh gods, please don’t let me fall!” I begged him as I strained my arm upwards, trying to grab Kili’s hand, when my feet slipped out from under me and I started to slid more. I closed my eyes tightly, begging someone to help me silently, when I felt an arm wrap around me, holding me close. I opened my eyes and saw Thorin holding on to me and he pushed me up into Dwalin’s waiting arms.

 

“Go on lass, you’re shaking like a leaf.” He said softly and he reached for Thorin, pulling him up in the nick of time.

 

“I thought we’d lost our burglar. Nearly lost the other one, too.” Dwalin sighed once Thorin was back on firm ground.

 

“He’s been lost ever since he left home. He should never have come. He has no place amongst us. Dwalin!” Thorin snapped angrily and walked away from us. We kept walking, finally finding a cave and we entered it grateful for the brief break from the rain.

 

“Looks safe enough.” Dwalin said, looking about.

 

“Search to the back; caves in mountains are seldom unoccupied.” Thorin instructed. After giving the all clear, I sat down towards the back of the cave, still trembling hard and brushing water off of my face, wringing my hair out and tried to calm down. I hated heights, just absolutely hated them and tonight, I nearly fell to my death.

 

“Ashanna.”

 

I looked up and saw Bilbo kneeling in front of me.

 

“I am so sorry. Are you going to be okay?”

 

I shook my head no, tears filling my eyes and I looked away as my shoulders began to shake as I cried.

 

“I almost _died_ , Bilbo. I almost died, and I can’t… I’m still shaking so hard. I saw my life flash before my eyes, and I can’t be alright after that.” I whispered, trying not to let the others know I was crying and scared. He patted my hand softly, sitting with me, and let me lean against him and cry it out.


	11. Goblin Town

By now, everyone but Bofur and I were asleep, which was nice. I could sit watch with Bofur to make sure nothing attacked us while the others rested from that ordeal. I had to fight from laughing out loud as Bofur whispered jokes and made faces, trying to put a smile on my face and it was working really well.

 

“Shh! Thorin will yell at us if he hears us making too much noise.” I giggled after one of his more raunchy jokes and he chortled, but agreed to stop for the moment just in case. Things were quiet until Bilbo tried to sneak away with his things and Bofur and I stopped him.

 

“Where do you think you’re going?” Bofur whispered.

 

“Back to Rivendell.”

 

“No, no, you can’t turn back now, you’re part of the Company. You’re one of us.” Bofur replied, trying so hard to convince Bilbo to stay.

 

“I’m not though, am I? Thorin said I should never have come, and he was right. I’m not a Took, I’m a Baggins, I don’t know what I was thinking, I should never have run out my door.” Bilbo sighed, defeated and hurt over what Thorin had said.

 

“You’re homesick; I understand. Ashanna understands.” Bofur said and I nodded in agreement.

 

“No no, you don’t, you don’t understand! None of you do – you’re dwarves and Ashanna, you’re a Dalish. You’re used to – to this life, to living on the road, never settling in one place, not belonging anywhere.” Bilbo snapped softly. Bofur looked offended and I recoiled like I’d been hit, fairly offended myself over his remark.

 

“I am sorry, I don’t…”

 

“No, you’re right. We don’t belong anywhere. I wish you all the luck in the world. I really do.” Bofur said with a sad smile.

 

“As do I, Master Baggins.” I added in quietly, though I was still stinging from his words. As he turned to walk away, Bofur and I noticed something glowing blue amongst Bilbo’s things.

 

“What’s that?”

 

Bilbo pulled his sword part way out of the sheath to reveal the blade was glowing blue. We looked at one another, puzzled, when Thorin lifted his head and the sounds of mechanical whirring caught my attention.

 

“Wake up. Wake up!” Thorin shouted, but before anyone could react, the floor of the cave dropped open, revealing that it was really a trap door. We fell down a chute, slid through a tunnel, and landed in a giant wooden cage. There was a lot of screaming and yelling, a little crazed laughter on my part during the whole slide down, and now that we had crash landed, we fought to get up, and of course to make things much worse, a hoard of goblins came charging at us, took our weapons and dragged us away. We fought, yelling and cursing, as they dragged us through a series of tunnels and over wooden bridges towards what seemed to be a throne room. Loud banging filled the air and it sounded almost like music, just really terrible music. I glanced around and saw Thorin’s look of disgust as he looked around too, his lip curling in distaste. As we drew closer, a giant goblin, fat, covered in warts and just plain disgusting was sitting on a throne making disgusting noises.

 

“I feel a song coming on.” He grunted and actually began to sing.

 

“ _Clap, snap, the black crack. Grip, grab, pinch and nab. Batter and beat make ‘em stammer and squeak! Pound, pound, far underground, down, down, down in Goblin Town! With a swish and a smack and a whip and a crack, everybody talks when they’re on my rack. Pound, pound, far underground, down, down, down to Goblin Town. Hammer and tongs, get out your knockers and gongs. You won’t last long on the end of my prongs. Clash, crash, crush and smash. Bang, break, shiver and shake. You can yammer and yelp but there ain’t no help. Pound, pound, far underground, down, down, down in Goblin Town!_ ”

 

I wrinkled my nose at the song and the Great Goblin’s dance, but when he did a little dance on his tip toes, I nearly began to giggle over the sight. He sat down in his throne again, one of his goblins squealing in pain when he was stepped on as the giant goblin sat.

 

“Catchy isn’t it? It’s one of my own compositions.” He asked with a toothy smirk.

 

“That’s not a song. It’s an abomination!” Balin shouted and the goblins screeched loudly in protest and anger.

 

“Abominations, mutations, deviations, that’s all you’re gonna find down here.” He rumbled while his minions threw all of our weapons on the ground in front of him while he leaned forward, a nasty look on his face as he looked over us.

 

“Who would be so bold as to come armed into my kingdom? Spies? Thieves? Assassins?”

 

“Dwarves and an elf, Your Malevolence.” A goblin offered up.

 

“Dwarves? And an elf?”

 

“You know, I’m rather tired of hearing that as an insult.” I snapped irritably, yanking my arm away from a goblin that was sniffing me.

 

“We found them on the front porch.” The first goblin said, ignoring my outburst.

 

“Well, don’t just stand there; search them! Every crack, every crevice!”

 

My skin crawled as the goblins searched me quite literally everywhere like their king said. I would need a long bath after this if we got out alive.

 

“What are you doing in these parts? Speak!” The Great Goblin snapped, but none of us said anything.

 

“Well then, if they will not talk, we’ll make them squawk! Bring out the Mangler! Bring out the Bone Breaker! Start with the youngest.” He roared, pointing at Ori, when Thorin stepped forward.

 

“Wait.”

 

 _Thorin, what are you doing?_ I bit my lip nervously, observing the situation closely, wondering if I could do anything to prevent something from happening.

 

“Well, well, well, look who it is. Thorin son of Thrain, son of Thror, King under the Mountain.” The Great Goblin made an exaggerated bow at Thorin, laughing the whole time.

 

“Oh, but I’m forgetting, you don’t have a mountain. And you’re not a king. Which makes you nobody, really. I know someone who would pay a pretty price for your head. Just the head, nothing attached. Perhaps you know of whom I speak, an old enemy of yours. A Pale Orc astride a White Warg.”

 

Thorin and I looked up in surprise and disbelief.

 

“Azog the Defiler was destroyed. He was slain in battle long ago.”

 

“What are you playing at, you bloated leech?” I snarled, stepping up by Thorin. The Great Goblin stared at me for a moment, then began to laugh again.

 

“Oh, this just gets better. You must be that Dalish that escaped him. He has plans for you, little elf,” The goblin turned to a tiny goblin that was sitting in a basket, and holding a slate. “Send word to the Pale Orc; tell him I have found his prize.”


	12. Azog

_I will never feel clean again after that. Damn goblins. Disgusting little creatures._ I thought with a grimace as I wiped blood off of my armor, grumbling under my breath, cursing adventures and goblins and everything else I could think of. Bilbo and the others were speaking and I paused a moment to listen to what they were saying.

 

“It matters! I want to know – why did you come back?” Thorin demanded, staring Bilbo down intently, a questioning look on his face.

 

“Look, I know you doubt me, I know you always have. And you’re right, I often think of Bag End. I miss my books. And my armchair. And my garden. See, that’s where I belong. That’s home. And that’s why I came back, cause you don’t have one. A home. It was taken from you. But I will help you take it back if I can.”

 

I smiled at Bilbo’s speech, pleased to hear how much he’d changed since we first set out on this adventure.

 

“Gandalf? Might I speak with you a moment?” I called over and the wizard came to see what it was.

 

“The Great Goblin said Azog still lives and that he has plans for me. What on earth do you think that could mean?” I was troubled over what was said back in that throne room. Gandalf was quiet, thinking things over, then shrugged.

 

“I’m afraid I don’t know, Ashanna.” He murmured, a troubled look in his eyes.

 

“We should get moving. There’s no telling what else will be waiting for us here and I’d like to be gone before it gets too dark to travel any further.” I got to my feet and strapped my weapons back in place, making sure I had everything and it was all in the right place.

 

“Wait, hold on, what was that?” I asked with a frown, straining to hear that odd sound I’d heard a moment ago.

 

“Out of the frying pan…” Thorin muttered when he realized it was the howl of a warg.

 

“… and into the fire! Run! RUN!” Gandalf shouted. We sprinted down the mountain, trying to keep our footing so we wouldn’t fall or tumble too far, the wargs rapidly catching up to us. The sun had completely set, leaving us blindly running down the side of a mountain, and one of the wargs caught up to us, leaping at Bilbo. Bilbo ducked down behind a rock just as the warg’s jaws snapped in the air over his head.

 

“Watch out!” I shouted as the warg landed, growling, and charged him. He, surprisingly, managed to kill the thing and it fell to the ground with Bilbo’s sword stuck in its head. We dispatched the others quickly and kept running till we reached an outcropping of land with a few trees growing on it. There was no way out other than the way we came and a long drop down; we were trapped.

 

“Up into the trees, all of you! Come on, climb! Bilbo, climb!” Gandalf shouted. Everyone scrambled up the trees quickly, but Bilbo was still trying to get his sword out of the warg’s skull, so I raced over, sliding across the ground, pulled as hard as I could and handed him the sword.

 

“Quickly, get up a tree. Now!” I shoved the hobbit forward.

 

“They’re coming!”

 

I was out of time to get up a tree, so I dashed over to one of the boulders nearby and hid, waiting to see what would happen. The main body of the wargs and their riders approached, wargs without riders rushing to surround the trees my friends were hiding in.

 

“Azog?!” Thorin’s voice was dripping disbelief and I peered around the boulder to see the Pale Orc himself came riding up on that blasted white mutt of his.

 

“Nuzdigid? Nuzdi gast? Ganzilig-i unarug obod nauzdanish, Torin undag Train-ob.”

 

I didn’t speak Orc, but the pain and grief on Thorin’s face told me he said something about his father.

 

“It cannot be.”

 

Chaos reigned in the outcropping as wargs attacked the trees, their weight making the trees come uprooted and begin to fall over the edge. Suddenly, flaming pinecones came raining down on the wargs, causing them to flee in fear of the flames. The tress had stopped moving, though they were at a precarious angle and Ori was hanging on for dear life, terrified to fall. Not knowing what else to do, I leaped from my hiding place and charged the wargs that were left, slicing and hacking with my dar’misu, the shining metal coated in black blood as I danced my way through the battlefield, grateful for this armor more than ever. Azog growled furiously when he saw me cutting his people down and I smiled darkly at him and waggled my fingers in a form of greeting before slitting another Orc’s throat, looking Azog in the eyes as I drew my blade slowly across the creature’s throat. It let out a strangled cry, dropping to the ground when I let go of it and I laughed wickedly.

 

“Ashanna! What are you doing?” Bofur yelled but I ignored him, focused on Azog.

 

“I won’t let you take them from me like you took my family.” I snarled furiously, spitting blood onto the ground. My face was covered in cuts and bruises, my hands were torn and bloody, I was almost sure I’d bruised my ribs, but I was determined to end this. Before I could even take one step, Thorin charged past, his sword and oak shield held up but before he could even swing his sword, the white warg slammed right into his chest with its forepaw, sending him crashing to the ground.

 

“Thorin!” I screamed as he fell, rushing forward to help him when two orcs came from out of nowhere and grabbed my arms, holding me back. I snarled viciously at them, struggling to free myself, but they tightened their grip on my arms, keeping me in place. I watched, terrified as Thorin got to his feet, panting, Azog and the mutt whirling about to charge him again. The mace gripped in Azog’s hand crashed into Thorin’s face as he went by him again, sending him brutally crashing into the ground once more.

 

“Nooo!” Balin cried out, horrified. Azog roared in excitement as the warg clamps it’s jaws around Thorin’s body and he yelled in pain. It was almost as time was slowing down as I watched the Warg fling Thorin away when he hit it in the head with the pommel of his sword; the flames from the pinecones Gandalf enchanted burned around us, the flames looking as if they were barely flickering, Bilbo was walking slowly to stop the Orc that was going to behead Thorin and I finally snapped out of my temporary daze. With a savage cry, I smashed my foot down onto each Orc’s foot and they let go of me, screeching in pain and anger before I beheaded them. Bilbo managed to kill the Orc that was going to kill Thorin and I let out a sharp whistle, attracting everyone’s attention.

 

“Azog! You want me, right? You have some big plan for me? Well if you want me, you’ll have to catch me first!” I taunted the Orc and waited for him to take the bait before sprinting away back up towards the mountain, yelling obscenities at the Orcs and insulting their mother’s.

 

 _Do Orcs even have mothers?_ I wondered as I ran, grinning madly when I heard them chasing after me.

 

_I hope you all get away safely and I pray that Thorin lives on._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “Nuzdigid? Nuzdi gast? Ganzilig-i unarug obod nauzdanish, Torin undag Train-ob.” translates to "Do you smell it? The scent of fear? I remember your father reeked of it, Thorin son of Thrain."


	13. Reunited

I had run for hours, finally losing Azog and the others some time ago, and now I had no idea where to go. It was stupid to run off but they needed time to get away and I gave them the time they needed. I would also safely assume Orcs did indeed have mothers because my insults of them seemed to make them angrier.

 

 _Well… now what?_ I sighed, pausing in the open field I’d ended up at so I could catch my breath. A large shadow passed overhead and I looked up to see a giant eagle circling above me.

 

“Shit.” I whispered, unsure if it was a friend or foe, but I was too tired to run anymore. My legs felt like jelly and if I even attempted to run, I would probably fall over. It let out a screech and dove, picking me up in its claws, wheeled about and flew back the way I’d just run from.

 

 _Wonderful, it’s just one thing after another, isn’t it?_ I held on tight, wondering where it was taking me. Sometime later, I awoke to find we were still flying, so I guessed I wasn’t going to become some hungry chick’s dinner. It began to descend quickly and I braced myself as it got closer to the ground, carefully dropping me in the midst of my friends.

 

“Ashanna!” They yelled, tackling me in a hug that was suffocating and much too tight, but I loved it.

 

“Did I not tell you I had someone watching out for her?” Gandalf chuckled a little. I had to wriggle out of everybody’s grasp so I could breathe again and I began cracking up, just overjoyed to be alive and back with my new little clan. We were a bunch of misfits, sure, but that’s what made it all the better. I looked around and saw Thorin standing off to the side, watching us with a small smile on his face.

 

“Thorin! You’re alright!” I grinned widely, going over and hugging him tightly and planted a quick kiss on his cheek.

 

“Ashanna… Azog didn’t hurt you did he?” Thorin asked, checking me over for any wounds that looked fresh.

 

“No, but I think the next time he sees me, he might kill me. I insulted his mother, which I think they actually do have mothers because of insults I made having to do with their mothers made them angrier.” I snickered. Thorin shook his head and rolled his eyes good naturedly. Something caught his eye and he strode past us and we all turned to see what he was staring at. There, in the distance, on the horizon was one single mountain.

 

“Is that what I think it is?” Bilbo asked in a quiet voice tinged with awe.

 

“Erebor – The Lonely Mountain. The last of the great dwarf kingdoms of Middle-earth.” Gandalf replied.

 

“Our home.” Thorin added in and took my hand in his, squeezing it gently and glanced over at me. I smiled at him and turned back to face the road ahead.

 

“A raven!” The birds are returning to the mountain!” Oin cheered when a little thrush came by, cheeping happily.

 

“That, my dear Oin, is a thrush.” Gandalf gently corrected the older dwarf.

 

“But we’ll take it as a sign – a good omen.”

 

“You’re right. I do believe the worst is behind us.”

 

We stood there, looking at the mountain as the sun rose behind us, setting a beautiful sight as the golden rays touched the earth. We were almost done with our journey.


	14. Beorn's Home

We had been traveling for some time now, avoiding the pack as best as possible, stopping here and there so Bilbo or I could sneak ahead and check things out. Bilbo was coming back from his turn of playing spy and he looked worried.

 

“How close is the pack?” Dwalin asked him as he drew closer.

 

“Too close. A couple of leagues, no more, but that’s not the worst of it.” Bilbo replied.

 

“Have the Wargs picked up our scent?”

 

“Not yet, but they will; we have another problem.”

 

“Did they see you? They saw you!” Gandalf exclaimed with a frown on his face but Bilbo shook his head like crazy, getting frustrated that no one would let him finish speaking.

 

“No, that’s not it.”

 

Gandalf turned to the dwarves, smiling and went on to praise Bilbo for his quietness.

 

“Will you listen – Will you just listen? I’m trying to tell you there is something else out there!” He snapped, slightly losing his temper. The dwarves looked worried and I couldn’t say I felt any better about this something else, either. What else was out here aside from the Orcs?

 

“What form did it take? Like a bear?”

 

I knew who Gandalf was speaking of and cringed internally. This was not a creature I wished to anger.

 

“Ye…” Bilbo paused a moment, looking curiously at Gandalf. “Y-yes. But bigger, much bigger.” He continued and Gandalf nodded solemnly.

 

“You knew about this beast?” Bofur asked Gandalf with a troubled frown on his face as Gandalf walked a few steps away.

 

“I saw we double back.” Bofur turned to look at the rest of us, Thorin shaking his head no.

 

“And be run down by a pack of Orcs.”

 

“There is a house, it’s not far from here, where we might take refuge.” Gandalf said slowly.

 

“Whose house? Are they friend or foe?” Thorin demanded suspiciously, steel eyes narrowed a bit as he thought of what we should do.

 

“Neither. He will help us, or he will kill us.”

 

“What choice do we have?”

 

At that moment, a loud roar split the air behind us and we turned to see a giant bear charging towards us. I shrieked and took off running, hauling ass past the dwarves.

 

“Hurry! Get to the house!” I shouted over another loud roar. They caught up quickly and we raced over plains and through streams, water splashing up and soaking us as we ran through them.

 

“Come on!” Gandalf yelled and we made it to a forest, still sprinting, when Azog and his pack came bursting out of nowhere and he urged his group to ride faster. Another ear shattering roar brought both of our groups to a halt, everyone looking at one another before Gandalf reacted swiftly to the situation.

 

“This way, quickly!” He lead us onward to a house that was surrounded by a hedge in the middle of a plain and I figured that had to be the house we were going to. Bombur passed by all of us, terrified out of his wits and he ran smack into the door, trying to open it frantically.

 

“Open the door!”

 

“Quickly!” Thorin snapped, pushed through everyone piled against the door and threw the bolt up, opening the door and we all fell inside, scrambling back to shut the door, but the bear had gotten its head through, making it a fight to close the door.

 

“What _is_ that?” Ori asked breathlessly, looking at Gandalf with bewilderment on his face.

 

“That… is our host.”

 

“That was Beorn, wasn’t it Gandalf? My Keeper spoke of him. They used to know each other quite well many years ago, but she never spoke much of him besides letting us know he was not one to be crossed. And that he’s a skin-changer, which was brought up too. I… did not know she was being serious.” I spoke up hesitantly, a slight frown on my face as I spoke, trying to recall what all Keeper Istimaethoriel had said of Beorn. I think they were lovers at one point, but that was merely speculation.

 

“Yes, that’s right Ashanna. Sometimes he’s a huge black bear; sometimes he’s a great strong man. The bear is unpredictable, but the man can be reasoned with. However, he is not fond of dwarves. He might like you, though Ashanna, especially if you mention Istimaethoriel.”

 

The dwarves looked dismayed at the not fond of dwarves bit and Ori peeked out through a crack in the door.

 

“He’s leaving!”

 

“Come away from there! It’s not natural, none of it. It’s obvious: he’s under some dark spell.” Dori snapped at his brother and pulled him away from the door protectively.

 

“Don’t be a fool; he’s under no enchantment but his own. Alright now, get some sleep, all of you. You’ll be safe here tonight.” Gandalf said and everyone split off to sleep. I found a cozy little room to curl up in and I made myself a little bed out of my cloaks, took my armor off and set it aside before curling up in my little nest sighing softly, content for the moment to sleep.

 

“Would you care for some company?”

 

I looked up to see Thorin leaning on the doorframe and shook my head, motioning for him to come in. He closed the door quietly and settled himself down next to me, pulling me into his arms, lips catching mine again in a tender kiss. When we broke the kiss, I curled up next to him, laying my head on his warm chest, throwing a long leg over his and cuddling up close to him as he wrapped a muscular arm around my slender body, keeping me close to him. I hadn’t felt like this before; my heart was beating so fast I thought it might burst from my chest. Was this what love felt like?

 

“Thorin, I…” I hesitated, biting my lip as I rethought my words. Was it too soon to tell him I loved him?

 

“What is it, Ashanna?”

 

“I… I think… I love you.”


	15. My Heart

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for it being so short, but I wanted to finish it before crashing for the night! Next chapter will be much longer!

It was quiet for a moment, my breath caught in my chest and my heart beating so hard, my chest felt bruised from it. Thorin had said nothing yet and I was afraid I might have spoken too soon, when he rolled me over, his warm, muscular body over mine, and kissed me more deeply and passionately than before, leaving me breathless. I felt his hands tangle themselves in my hair as we lay there, just barely taking moments to breathe before we were kissing again, and I couldn’t stop the low moan that escaped my lips as he nibbled gently at the tip of my ear. His lips quirked into a smirk against my skin and I felt him do it again, sending shivers down my spine and I whimpered softly at his touch. I felt his lips trail soft kisses down my neck and to the swell of my breasts, my breast band causing him to pause a moment and remove it.

 

“Thorin!” I squeaked as he wrapped his lips around my left nipple, biting and suckling while massaging my right breast firmly with his rough hand, my back arching up, whimpering and moaning with every kiss, every touch and I felt like my body was on fire. Every nerve felt alive as Thorin trailed his fingers over my taut stomach and teased over my slick folds, his smirk and teasing driving me crazy.

 

“ _Ma vhenan_ , stop teasing me.” I pleaded through swollen lips, but he only teased more, still smirking at me. I had had enough teasing and swiftly put an end to it, getting up to my knees and pushing Thorin back, my lips pressed to his before I leaned down and took him into my mouth, lips wrapped around his shaft. He groaned and leaned back against the wall, his fingers going back to my hair again as I bobbed up and down, licking and nibbling gently, teasing him the way he teased me as payback. His moans of pleasure brought a smile to my face as I looked up at him through my eyelashes, appreciating how relaxed he looked with his head tilted back against the wall, eyes closed, contented sighs filling the room. He stopped me suddenly, kissing me again and laying me back on my makeshift bed and guided himself into me, shuddering at how tight I was and how wet, giving both of us a moment to adjust before he began thrusting, his hips meeting mine as we fucked. My nails dug into his back, leaving scratch marks behind as he thrust harder and harder, grunting and groaning, trying to not get too loud otherwise we’d alert the others that we were up to something.

 

“ _Vhenan_.” I moaned, the fire fanning down and I felt that familiar tingle rushing through my body as my orgasm quickly approached. Thorin covered my mouth with his as a keening wail burst from me as I came undone like never before, my vision going black as I rode out my orgasm, my whole body quaking with it and before I knew it, Thorin was coming, hips stuttering as he came. We lay there, entwined in one another’s arms, and we kissed once more before I snuggled close, my eyes heavy with sleep.

 

“Ashanna, you called me… what was it, _vhenan_? What does it mean?” Thorin asked quietly, stroking my hair softly and tracing little patterns softly on my sensitive skin.

 

“It means heart. _Ma vhenan_ means my heart. You are, though, Thorin. I truly do love you.” I yawned sleepily, closing my eyes and drifting to sleep.


	16. Sisters Reunited at Last

It was morning now and we were sitting around a table with Beorn, eating and discussing Azog and everything else going on.

 

“You are one of Deshanna’s charges, are you not?” Beorn nodded his head towards me as he passed a large roll my way.

 

“Yes… I was. She… has been gone for many years now. My whole clan is gone.”

 

“Not your whole clan.” Beorn smiled as two elvhen women came walking in, wiping their foreheads and freezing in place when they saw me.

 

“Ashanna?”

 

“Valora? Akasha? You’re alive?” I leaped to my feet when I saw my two sisters standing there, shock on their tattooed faces.

 

“Why didn’t you send word? I thought you had died with one of the other clans!” I shouted at them after we hugged and I cracked their heads together, glaring at the older and younger elves.

 

“We thought you were dead! We had been in Thedas for a while before coming back here. When we heard about the Dalish here being wiped out, we assumed you had died along with our clan. Beorn has let us stay here with him and we work on helping him keep things peaceful.” Valora said, rubbing her head and scowling a little.

 

“It’s so good to see you alive.” Akasha grinned widely at me and gave me another hug. When I turned to face my friends, everyone was staring at us, slack jawed and surprised.

 

“Ah… I suppose I never mentioned I had an older sibling and a younger sibling? Well, this is Valora, my eldest sister and Akasha, our baby sister. Valora, Akasha, this is Dwalin, Balin, Bifur, Bofur, Bombur, Fili, Kili, Oin, Gloin, Dori, Nori, Ori, Thorin Oakenshield and Bilbo Baggins.” I made introductions quickly, pointing at everyone so they’d know who was who. Once things had settled down, Beorn and Gandalf began speaking again.

 

“You need to reach the mountain before the last days of autumn?” Beorn had a slight frown on his face as they discussed what to do. I excused myself politely and my sisters followed after me outside where we watched Beorn’s ponies prancing and playing in the field.

 

“So, that Thorin Oakenshield; you two have some real sparks between you.” Valora smirked at me, my face heating up with embarrassment and I shrugged my shoulders, unsure of what to say.

 

“It’s sweet. Thought you two aren’t as quiet as you think you are.” She continued with a laugh.

 

“Fen’Harel take me now.” I muttered, hiding my face in my hands as she and Akasha laughed.

 

“So why are you even with this company? I’m a little confused honestly.” Akasha piped up, glancing my way.

 

“They hired me as a burglar along with Bilbo. At first it was just business, but then… I don’t really know. Thorin started things, just kisses at first or tender looks when no one was looking, sometimes just holding onto my hand if we had the chance and then last night, things just… happened.”

 

“Do you love him?”

 

I paused at Valora’s question, thinking about everything that’s happened and nodded.

 

“Yes. Yes, I’m in love with him. I never thought it would happen this way or that it would happen with a dwarf, but here we are.”

 

“And does he feel for you the same way?”

 

I knew Valora was just looking out for me, but the question made my stomach drop to my feet because I didn’t know.

 

“I… I don’t know. He hasn’t said it yet.” I mumbled. Valora nodded and rose to her feet, brushed herself off and grabbed her staff.

 

“I’ll return in a moment sisters, there’s someone I wish to speak with.”

 

“No, oh, Valora, please don’t. Creators, I’m going to die of embarrassment now.” I groaned as she walked back inside the house.

 

~*~*~

 

[Thorin’s POV]

 

“Oakenshield, I’d like to speak with you if you’ve concluded your business.” Valora, Ashanna’s sister, had walked in with a cool look on her face and she spoke with a commanding tone that I’d hear Ashanna use at times when she was angry. I stood up and followed after her, leaning on a wall when she paused and turned to face me.

 

“Do you love my sister? If you do not, then do not think to lead her on anymore. Do her a kindness and end it if this is all a big joke to you.” Her arms were crossed over her chest as she spoke and she looked annoyed.

 

“I care very deeply for your sister. She’s challenging and has more courage than I ever expected. She’s beautiful and kind, and her sense of humor is amusing if not a little strange. Ashanna has become someone I would die for if it ever came to it.”

 

Valora stared at me, bright silver eyes flashing as she studied me closely and gauged my words for truth.

 

“I see. As long as she is happy and you are good to her, I approve. Akasha and I will be coming with you. You’ll need all the help you can get and as a mage, my spells will be helpful especially if we will be passing through Mirkwood.” Her voice was firm and I could tell there would be no arguments to be hand with her over it. So I agreed and she smiled a little at me.

 

“Good. I expected more of a fight. Maybe Ash is changing you for the better, Master Oakenshield.” And with that, Valora swept away to inform Beorn she and Akasha would be parting with us.


	17. Mirkwood

[Ashanna’s POV]

 

We saddled the ponies and horses Beorn was graciously allowing us to borrow to get us to Mirkwood and Beorn watched out carefully, looking for signs of danger.

 

“Go now, while you have the light. The hunters are not far behind.” He said and we took off, riding hard across the land, no one talking, making jokes or anything as we approached a dark looking forest and I nearly gasped when I felt how sick it was.

 

“Valora, Akasha, have you been near here lately?” I murmured to my sisters and they shook their heads.

 

“Only once and we had to leave quickly. It was making us ill just being near it. Something is very wrong in those woods.” Akasha’s voice was an octave above a whisper, her eyes wide and a little frightened. Gandalf dismounted and walked over to an ancient archway our Uncle and the other forest elves had made so long ago.

 

“The Elven Gate… Here lies our path through Mirkwood!” Gandalf called to us.

 

“No sign of the Orcs. We have luck on our side.” Dwalin stated after looking about us and dismounted from his pony. Valora, Akasha and I did the same, removing our gear from our horses and sending them off back to Beorn.

 

“Set the ponies loose. Return them to their master.”

 

Bilbo walked over and looked at the forest and we could tell he felt what we did.

 

“This forest feels… sick, as if a disease lies upon it. Is there no way around?” He asked, looking back at Gandalf. The wizard shook his head and Bilbo sighed.

 

“Not unless we go two hundred miles north, or twice that distance south.” Gandalf said and walked a little further into the forest. While we waited to see what we were to do and the others unloaded the ponies, I sat and began to craft more arrows while Akasha went over to Kili, talking and flirting with him, giggling and making jokes and Valora was speaking with Fili, asking him about the adventure so far and to get her caught up with everything. I smiled and shook my head as they flirted in their own ways; both Kili and Fili were loving it, however, and you could see them doing their best to impress those two.

 

“It seems your sisters are interested in Fili and Kili.”

 

I jumped and nearly cut myself when Thorin took me by surprise when he sat down next to me and spoke up.

 

“Shit! Well, that arrow’s done.” I groaned and tossed the wood aside and grabbed some more and got back to work.

 

 

“And I’m not surprised Akasha has already begun to flirt with Kili. She’s a fast mover and it’s been her way since she was a child. If she wanted something, she would pursue it until it was hers. Valora, however, is a bit of a surprise. She’s always been the quiet, more level-headed of us all, not impulsive in any way and she would observe a situation before acting. Seems Akasha might be rubbing off on her a bit.” I chuckled as Valora blushed a little and giggled at something Fili said.

 

 

“Not my horse! I need it!”

 

Everyone stopped what they were doing as Gandalf hurried out to stop Nori from unloading the horse he was using.

 

“You’re not leaving us?” Bilbo asked, with a troubled frown and the rest of the Company was murmuring amongst themselves in surprise.

 

“I would not unless I had to.” Gandalf said before turning to look at Thorin and I and then back to a dejected Bilbo. If Gandalf were leaving, then Valora, Akasha and I would need to take the lead from here to guide us through. I gave Thorin’s bicep an absent minded but gentle squeeze before I walked over to my sisters and pulled them aside.

 

“Gandalf is leaving, something big is going on and it seems we might need to take the lead through Mirkwood. With how sick the forest is making us feel and we aren’t even in it yet, I suggest you keep Fili and Kili nearby in case you feel too ill to move on your own. Valora, I know you’ve got your staff to lean on just in case, but I’d still keep Fili near.” I instructed and they nodded in agreement before splitting off to speak with Fili and Kili.

 

 

“I’ll be waiting for you at the overlook, before the slopes of Erebor. Keep the map and key safe. Do not enter that mountain without me.” Gandalf instructed Thorin, looking hard at him as he said it and kept walking to his horse.

 

“This is not the Greenwood of old. The very air of the forest is heavy with illusion. It will seek to enter your mind and lead you astray.”

 

“Lead us astray? What does that mean?” Dwalin demanded of Gandalf as he mounted his horse. Rain began to fall lightly even though the sun was out and it felt wrong on my skin as it fell.

 

“You must stay on the path; do not leave it. If you do, you will never find it again. No matter what may come, stay on the path!” Gandalf said and rode away.

 

~*~*~

 

“We know this forest! If you would just listen to us-“ Valora was arguing with Thorin viciously, her voice raising and usually that only happened when she was about to get really angry.

 

“Enough!” I screamed just to be heard over their fighting and everyone got silent, staring at me as I stood there, glaring at Valora and Thorin.

 

“Both of you just shut up. Thorin, Valora is right; we know this place like the back of our hands and I’m telling you, we left the path a long while ago. Valora, I need you to stop being bossy, it’s giving me a headache. Everyone needs to calm down, this place is getting to you. Let us lead the way back to the path and get us in the right direction.”

 

“Bilbo, can you scale one of these trees to see where we are?” Akasha asked, getting serious fast and Bilbo nodded slowly and began to climb up.

 

“ _Lethallan_ , something feels very wrong.” Valora murmured and pointed to the spider webs that were all over the place.

 

“Only giant spiders could have made webs this size. Oh Creators.” I muttered, going white as snow when I realized what was watching us. A crashing sound behind me made me turn slowly and I let out an ear shattering scream when a mass of giant spiders came rushing at us. Valora threw ice at the creatures, managing to freeze some of them in place but she didn’t have time to cast another spell, the spiders getting her and the rest of the company as well. I swung my sword, taking two more out, panicking as everyone was taken away.

 

“I will not let you disgusting creatures take me!” I shouted with a shaky voice, my hands trembling as I fought back, refusing to be done in by these things. Something sharp got me in the ribs and I cried out in pain, collapsing to my knees then flat on my face, and as I blacked out, I wondered where Bilbo was.


	18. Thranduil, King of the Woodland Realm

When I came to, I found myself wrapped up in spider silk and I began to panic, twisting and turning, screaming through closed lips as I fought to get free.

 

 _I hate spiders! Heights would be more delightful than this!_ I thought, frantically struggling, trying to make the silk rip so I could get away from this dreaded place. I heard screaming and hissing and Bilbo’s voice echoing around wherever the spiders dragged us off to and I really hoped he could cut us free. As thought crossed my mind, I found myself suddenly falling and someone cut me free and helped me to my feet.

 

“I have never been gladder to see your face.” I told Thorin, kissing him right there in front of everyone before pulling away and scooping up my weapons to fight. Valora was standing back to back with Fili as he slashed at the spiders and she threw spells at them, a gleeful look on her face as she burned the spiders to a crisp.

 

“Kili!” Fili saw a spider dragging his brother away and Akasha whirled, her braids spinning the air as she whipped her head around to see what was going on and she scooped up her sword and shield and flew after them, her feet barely touching the ground as she ran, a determined look on her face, when another spider slammed into her, sending her flying back, hitting the ground and she slid back a few more feet, cursing very loudly at it. Finally, we managed to defeat these spiders and ran, Akasha in the rear to make sure nothing attacked us from behind, Valora and I in the front just in case, and more spiders came leaping down at us, hissing and Thorin raised his sword to fight, when a very familiar blonde elf came swinging down on spider silk, landing on the spider it was attached to and killed it, then slid across the forest floor under the spider that was facing Thorin, Valora and I and, slicing it in half and came up onto one knee, arrow pointing at us.

 

“Still quite the show off I see, cousin.” I raised my eyebrows at him and he rose to his feet, grinning widely.

 

“We thought you three were dead!” He hugged us tightly before looking over the dwarves with a mild look of interest.

 

“We’ll explain later. For now let’s-“

 

“Help!”

 

We turned and saw Kili being dragged away by another spider and Akasha hefted her weapon again, growling angrily at the spider.

 

“Not today scum. You will not have him!” She charged with a war cry, smashing into one of the spiders with her shield before running it through the face with her blade and she whirled gracefully, using her shield as a disc of sorts and threw it hard and caught it after it sliced neatly through the other two spiders that were coming after Kili. She flipped her sword back and rammed it backwards under her left arm, barely even flinching as a pained squeal came from a spider that was coming after her from behind.

 

“Throw me your sword! Quick!” Kili shouted as another spider came at him, but Akasha was already on the move again, leaping high into the air and landed smack dab on the spider’s back, plunging her sword into its head. He stared at her in awe, mouth hanging open slightly when she smiled at him and walked back over to the group, her arm looped through his.

 

“Search them.” Legolas nodded at the other elves that were with him and they began to search the dwarves, taking their things. Valora snapped at them in elvhen, snapping her fingers at Legolas and motioning him over to her.

 

“You, I believe, are in trouble.” I grinned at him and handed Gloin his locket back.

 

“I think your wife is lovely and I’m sure your son is precious.” I told him kindly after the stinging insults Legolas threw at him. Gloin patted my hand gently and thanked me softly. Fili, in the meantime, was having all of his knives taken and Valora paused in her tirade at our cousin to look at the dwarf.

 

“Really? Are that many knives necessary?” She questioned him and he just grinned a little and shrugged before she shook her head in bewilderment and continued ripping into Legolas. He shook his head, looking annoyed and walked away to continue searching the dwarves. He took Thorin’s blade and snapped at Valora before turning to Thorin.

 

 

“Where did you get this?”

 

“It was given to me.”

 

“Not just a thief, but a liar as well.”

 

“Now hold on a moment! It really was given to him. We found it in a trolls hoard and brought it to Uncle Elrond. He allowed Thorin to hold on to it.” I was starting to get as upset as Valora was. Legolas looked between us and then at Valora and Akasha, who were standing beside Fili and Kili, glaring angrily at our cousin.

 

“Take them away.” Legolas said to the other elves and we were escorted to the Woodland Realm where our Uncle Thranduil ruled.

 

~*~*~

 

The others had been locked in cells while Thorin, Akasha, Valora and I were brought before our Uncle so he could have a few words with us.

 

“My nieces still live it seems. I heard what happened to the clans and your father. I am sorry for your loss.” Thranduil looked sad for a brief moment as he spoke of his brother, our father, and he gave us very brief hugs before stepping away and looking over us.

 

“Why did you not send word to us? It would have been nice to know you were among the living.” He continued, looking down his nose at us and I felt my lip curl in disgust.

 

“It was the last thing on my mind, to be honest. I was busy grieving over the family I lost.” I replied with a cross tone of voice. He ignored me and switched his attention to Thorin, staring him down with a strange look on his face.

 

“Some may imagine that a noble quest is at hand. A quest to reclaim a homeland and slay a dragon. I myself suspect a more prosaic motive: attempted burglary, or something of that ilk.”

 

Thorin looked closely at our Uncle, wondering what he knew and I was wondering the same thing.

 

“You have found a way in. You seek that which would bestow upon you the right to rule: the King’s Jewel, the Arkenstone. It is precious to you beyond measure. I understand that. There are gems in the mountain that I too desire. White gems of pure starlight. I offer you my help.”

 

“I am listening.”

 

I didn’t trust the man; he may be family but he was nothing like my father, he was a snake and vile and I was not thrilled to hear him offering help.

 

“I will let you go, if you but return what is mine.”

 

Thorin turned and began to walk away, us with him.

 

“A favor for a favor.”

 

“You have my word. One king to another.”

 

Thorin stopped walking and the hatred on his face was plain.

 

 

“I would not trust Thranduil, the great king, to honor his word should the end of all days be upon us!”

 

He turned around, pointing at our Uncle, shouting now at this point.

 

“You lack all honor! I’ve seen how you treat your friends. We came to you once, starving, homeless, seeking your help, but you turned your back. You turned away from the suffering of my people and the inferno that destroyed us! Imrid amrad ursul!”

 

I rested my hand on Thorin’s shoulder, trying to comfort him and I looked up as my uncle leapt down from his throne and got down in Thorin’s face.

 

“Do not talk to me of dragon fire. I know its wrath and ruin. I have faced the great serpents of the north.” As he spoke, his face contorted and Akasha gasped when she saw his face was covered with I assumed were burns and scars from his past encounters with dragons. His left eye was milk white and unseeing and as he drew away, his face returned to normal, but it left my sisters and I quite shaken.

 

“I warned your grandfather of what his greed would summon, but he would not listen.” He said as he turned and walked up the steps back to his throne.

 

“You are just like him.” He motioned for some guards to take Thorin away.

 

“Stay here if you will, and rot. A hundred years is a mere blink in the life of an elf. I am patient. I can wait. And please, find my nieces spare rooms, they are done with this journey and will remain here and act like true elves.”

 

More guards came and grabbed hold of my arms and my sisters arms, leading us away.

 

“Thorin! Thorin!” I shouted, struggling to break free as they led us apart from each other.


	19. Promise

I made a face as Tauriel, one of the few female elves I’d seen here, tightened the corset of my dress.

 

“This is ridiculous. I’d rather wear my armor.” I muttered and Valora agreed, looking down at the blue dress she was wearing.

 

“I feel like my tits are going to pop out of this thing. I’m a warrior, damn it, not some pretty, vapid little elf maiden.” Akasha groaned as she twirled a little in her gold dress that looked amazing with her tan skin tone. Tauriel chuckled and she shrugged her shoulders a little.

 

“Unfortunately, it’s your uncle’s rules. Tonight is a big celebration and he wants you three to look your best.”

 

“Who says we’ll even show? If he wishes to keep our friends prisoner, then we too shall stay prisoners in our rooms.” Valora sniffed angrily before sweeping out of my room and back to hers. Akasha agreed and left as well, leaving Tauriel and I alone.

 

“I am sorry, but I’m with my sisters on this.” I told her quietly and walked out on to the balcony of my room, sitting on the chair that was out there, staring out over the land sadly.

 

“Tauriel, might I have a moment with my cousin?”

 

I looked behind me to see Legolas entering my room and motioning for Tauriel to leave. I rose to my feet and went over to see what he wanted.

 

“Yes _lethallin_? I asked stiffly. He looked annoyed and when Valora came walking in, I knew why.

 

“Valora has… persuaded me to bring you to see the dwarves. You have to make an appearance at the party first before I take you.”

 

“I had to make a deal with him in order to get him to agree. So we go, dance a little, and then he’ll take us to see them and if he tells uncle, I’ll chop his hair off and his balls.” Valora shrugged like it was nothing.

 

“Very well, we can do that.”

 

~*~*~

 

I held onto my dress as I tapped down the stairs to Thorin’s cell, smiling widely when he stood up at the sight of me.

 

“Hi.” I breathed, getting closer to the bars of his cell and he stepped forward, eyes sweeping over my dress in admiration and I took his hand in my, rubbing my thumb over his.

 

“You look amazing, Ashanna.” He said softly, reaching up with his other hand to cup the side of my face tenderly, his thumb lightly stroking my cheekbone.

 

“Thank you. We’re trying to find a way to get you out of here, but so far no luck. I’m hoping that the party tonight provides a chance for us to free you.” I murmured, my eyes half closed as I leaned into his gentle touch.

 

“I love you. I want you to know that. I know I didn’t say it when we were at Beorn’s, but I do. I love you.”

 

I looked up, my eyes wide, and I smiled happily at his words, my heart soaring with delight.

 

“ _Ma vhenan_ , we’ll get you out of here. I promise.”


	20. Down the River We Go

“That’s brilliant, Bilbo! And it should absolutely work. Hopefully anyways.”

 

I had run to grab my armor and ran into Bilbo on my way back to the dungeon and he explained his plan to me.

 

“I’ll meet you there, I still need to grab a few things.” I informed him and dashed off to grab Valora’s staff and Akasha’s things as well and headed down to the cellar, slipping past the two sleeping guards and shoved our gear into a barrel.

 

“There you are! Finally! Come on, we need to get in.” I whispered when Bilbo and the others came walking into the room.

 

“Are you mad?! They’ll find us!” Dwalin hissed.

 

“No, no, they won’t, I promise you. Please, please, you _must_ trust me!” Bilbo pleaded. I slid into the one I’d hidden my things in while Valora and Akasha slid into two others. There was a commotion in the distance and the dwarves finally got it together.

 

“Do as he says!” Thorin snapped quietly and climbed into the barrel with me, while everyone else hid in the other barrels, Kili and Akasha giggling and whispering crude jokes to each other and Valora snuggled close to Fili, muttering about how she didn’t like rapidly moving water.

 

“What do we do now?” Bofur asked after Bilbo made sure we were all here.

 

“Hold your breath.” 

 

“Hold my breath? What do you mean?”

 

With that, Bilbo pulled the lever and the part of the floor that was under the barrels opened at a downward tilt and our barrels went rolling down and dropped several feet into the water. I was laughing as the barrels were rushed down the river, my beautiful dress soaked through and clinging to me, my hair plastered to my face, neck and shoulders and suddenly, Bilbo came crashing into the river, splashing water everywhere. I could hear Valora swearing in elvish and Akasha was giggling up a storm.

 

“Well done, Mister Baggins.” Thorin chuckled. Bilbo, who was half drowned and holding onto Nori’s barrel, waved his hand in thanks and spluttered out the go.

 

“Right, that’s probably a good idea.” 

 

We began to paddles as the river pulled us along and we finally emerged into sunlight and saw a waterfall in front of us. Valora was almost in tears, panicking over the water, while Akasha laughed like a mad woman, ready to go. That girl was afraid of nothing and always went head first into all sorts of dangerous stunts.

 

“Hold on!” Thorin shouted and I gripped onto the edge of the barrel tightly, laughing as we plunged through the rapids and were swiftly pulled down the river by the current. Legolas emerged from a tunnel, followed by other elves and he looked torn between wanting to stop us from escaping and letting us go.

 

“Holo in-annon!” He shouted and an elf with him blows a horn, signaling to more elves to shut the gate. I cursed and shouted at Legolas, yelling for him to just let us go on our way, but he said nothing in reply, only shook his head sadly.

 

“Damn it!” I snapped angrily as a metal sluice gate came up and blocked the river, halting the barrels in their tracks. The elves that were approaching had their swords drawn, ready to take us back to my Uncle, when a black arrow struck one in the back. Several orcs came swarming over the guard post, killing the guards and multitudes of Orcs run in from the bushes with another pale orc.

 

“Watch out! Those are orcs!” Bofur yelled and Akasha shot him an irritated look.

 

“No, really, Bofur? I had no idea!” She stood up in the barrel, ripped her dress at the bottom, giving her some movement back and she grabbed her weapons and leaped out to fight the ones who weren’t throwing themselves at us. Valora was slinging balls of fire and ice in every direction and cast an inferno on the shore after Akasha had danced out of the way, mocking the pale orc with insults over how hideous he was.

 

“You are one ugly mother! Come and get me, big boy. Nice, luscious elf wench right here for the taking.” She cackled and slammed her shield down into his skull before leaping into the air and kicking him towards the inferno Valora had cast. Kili managed to get out of the barrel and was running up the stairs towards the lever to lower the gate. Akasha caught up with him and guarded his back while he fought with the sword Dwalin threw up to him and the two fought in sync, their motions mirroring one another’s and it was actually beautiful to watch. As Kili reached for the lever, the other pale orc loosed an arrow and it hit Kili in the calf, making him stop short.

 

“Kili!” Fili shouted and Akasha dove as pale orc aimed another arrow their way, holding her shield up to deflect it. She leaned back and grabbed Kili, pulling him up onto her back, her shield still up and never wavering, then proceeded to crabwalk backwards, allowing Kili the chance to pull the lever and she took a flying leap, landing back in their barrel, clutching on to Kili tightly, working on removing the arrow safely, cursing as the shaft broke off.

 

“Valora! Are you alright?” I shouted over to her when I saw how pale she looked and how worried Fili was looking.

 

“Yes! My mana is low and I’m afraid I’m out of lyrium to work with! Don’t worry about me love, focus on your brother.” Valora called over to me and then soothed Fili in a calm tone of voice. Orcs were leaping at us and we fought hard and when one particularly feisty orcs sliced the bodice of my dress open, Thorin sliced its head off. I ducked down into the barrel, threw my dress off and put my armor on hastily, throwing the ruined cloth out of the barrel and tossed a few of my knives off to the others.

 

“Cut the log!” Thorin yelled as we passed under a log that held an orc on it, his borrowed sword and my dagger doing significant damage to the log as we passed under it and with a loud splash and shriek, the orc fell into the water.

 

“I’m not sure how much longer I can keep this up, Thorin.” I panted, wounded from all the fighting and being tossed about.

 

“Hold on love, we’ve got to keep going on.” He replied and swung at an orc that was intent on putting a sword in my back.

 

“By the Dread Wolf! Look at Bombur! He’s as graceful as a halla!” Akasha suddenly shouted with glee and I whipped my head around to see him running towards the river, tossing his axes to the others and jumping into an empty barrel. Thorin and I looked at each other and burst out laughing, unsure of what else to do about what we just saw and I saw Legolas and Tauriel had caught up with us, killing orcs left and right. My eyes got wide when I saw an orc about to kill my cousin while he was preoccupied and Thorin threw the sword he held at it, managing to kill it. Legolas looked up and they nodded at one another, coming to an understanding of sorts and he quit pursuing us.

 

“Well that was… lucky I suppose.” I sighed a breath of relief and sank back into the barrel, binding my wounds as best I could with trembling hands. The adrenaline was leaving me and now I just felt cold, tired, and sore and I wanted nothing more than to curl up beside a fire with a cup of hot chocolate from Par Vollen and snuggle with Thorin under a warm blanket. Was that really too much to ask for?


	21. Busted

The river finally calmed down enough to where Valora wasn’t twitching and panicking like a cat around a bathtub and it made paddling a lot easier now.

 

“Anything behind us?” Thorin asked and Balin confirmed we were clear for the moment. After debating it for a couple of minutes, we paddled our way to shore and hopped out, Akasha carrying Kili and gently laying him on the slab or rock we were on.

 

“Valora, give me a hand would you?” She asked in an upbeat tone, but I could see the concern in her eyes as she called Valora over.

 

“I’ll do what I can, but I’m not sure I can cast anything too big right now.” Valora said and walked over, kneeling down and removing the tattered remains of Akasha’s dress from Kili’s leg, letting out a hiss from between her teeth.

 

“I’m fine, it’s nothing.” Kili tried to wave the girls and Bofur off, but Akasha quieted him down and looked over his wound again.

 

“On your feet.”

 

“Kili’s wounded. His leg needs binding.” Fili and Valora said at the same time, both of them sounding pretty indignant about it.

 

“There’s an Orc pack on our tail; we keep moving.”

 

“No. We don’t move anywhere until I fix his leg.” Akasha snapped, her stubborn streak shining through as she stared Thorin down, daring him to challenge her.

 

“Bind his leg, quickly. You have two minutes.” Thorin finally relented and Akasha and Valora got to work, Valora’s hands glowing a soft rosy pink color as she cleared out any infection that might be happening and Akasha carefully dug out what she could of the arrow that was left in his leg. Kili grunted in pain, fighting the urge to cry out and I had to turn away, the blood making me feel a little ill. I’d seen so much of it the past few weeks that I never wanted to see blood again. While they worked on Kili’s leg, everyone else seemed content on wringing out their clothes and emptying their boots of water. A sound of boots caught my ear and my head snapped up when I saw a man pointing a bow at Ori. Dwalin, holding a large branch, leapt in front of Ori and charges the man and nearly jumped back in surprise when the arrow this man had loosed embedded itself in the middle of the branch between Dwalin’s hands. Kili raised a rock to throw but this human shot the rock out of his hand, much to our surprise.

 

“Do it again, and you’re dead.”

 

“Excuse me, but, uh, you’re from Laketown, if I’m not mistaken? That barge over there, it wouldn’t be available for hire, by any chance?” Balin, the wonderful voice of reason, asked the man, approaching him slowly with his hands raised. He lowered his bow and climbed back onto his barge as we approached.

 

“What makes you think I will help you?” He asked suspiciously.

 

“Those boots have seen better days.” Balin nodded towards the man’s worn out old boots while he loaded our empty barrels into his barge.

 

“As has that coat. No doubt you have some hungry mouths to feed. How many bairns?”

 

“A boy and two girls.”

 

“And your wife, I’d imagine she’s a beauty.”

 

“Aye. She was.”

 

Balin’s smile faded and he looked sorrowful now.

 

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to-“ He was cut off by Dwalin’s not so quiet whispering to Thorin.

 

“Oh, come on, come on, enough with the niceties.” Dwalin grumbled with a huff.

 

“What’s your hurry?” He called over to Dwalin, almost amused by the dwarf’s annoyance.

 

“What’s it to you?”

 

“I would like to know who you are and what you are doing in these lands.”

 

“We are simple merchants from the Blue Mountains journeying to see our kin in the Iron Hills. We’re celebrating three weddings and the announcement of a child.” Balin said, nodding towards Thorin and I, Fili and Valora and Akasha and Kili. Valora went pink and Akasha did as well, Thorin and I just looked at one another, eyebrows raised, but we played along with it.

 

“Simple merchants, you say?” The human looked skeptical of that part of the story of all things.

 

“We’ll need food, supplies, weapons… and things for a child. Can you help us?” Thorin asked, going along with Balin’s story and he rested a hand on my stomach. I gave a fake smile and rested my hand on his quietly cursing this idea. The man looked at the barrels, noticing the damage done to them from our battle with the orcs.

 

“I know where these barrels came from.”

 

“What of it?”

 

“I don’t know what business you had with the elves, but I don’t think it ended well. No one enters lake town but by leave of the Master. All his wealth comes from trade with the Woodland Realm. He will see you in irons before risking the wrath of King Thranduil.”

 

“King Thranduil is my Uncle. He is theirs as well, we are sisters and we have just come from there visiting. I do not know what happened to the barrels exactly, though we did not cause the damage. I will pay you double if you can get us to Laketown. I assume you know of the Hero of Ferelden? Savior of the worlds?” I spoke up and he nodded slowly.

 

“Yes, she ended the Blight that could have doomed Thedas and Middle Earth.”

 

“She was our mother and what I’m wearing? It was her armor and its worth quite a bit. If you can take us to Laketown and help us, I will gladly give it to you to do whatever you wish with it.”

 

The look on this man’s face softened a bit and he shook his head.

 

“I could not take something so precious from you.”

 

“I’ll wager there’s ways to enter that town unseen.” Balin spoke up and the bargeman nodded slowly and looked us over.

 

“Aye. But for that, you will need a smuggler.”

 

 

~*~*~

 

“This is a terrible idea.” I whispered as we crept down to the armory.

 

“They refused to listen! And Akasha and I couldn’t stop them.” Valora hissed following after our friends, a grumpy look on her face. We were waiting outside with the others since we refused to go in and put ourselves in anymore foolish danger and I wanted to go back to Bard’s. It was cold and my fingers felt numb, even with Valora warming her hands up and rubbing them against mine.

 

“I still think this is a terrible idea.” I grumbled and then a loud crashing sound from inside the armory caught our attention. We turned to take off and I nearly impaled myself on a pike from a watchmen.

 

“Ah shit.” Akasha sighed and put her hands up, surrendering quickly since we were weaponless. We were led to this Master’s home and a large group of people were following us, curious to see what was going on.

 

“What is the meaning of this?” A rather, well, fat man came out of this large mansion, angry about being disturbed, and I assumed he was the one they called the Master.

 

“We caught ‘em stealing weapons, sire.” One of the guardsmen said.

 

“Ah. Enemies of the state, then.”

 

“This is a bunch of mercenaries if there ever was, sire.”

 

“OK now that was just plain rude.” A deep voice boomed over the crowd and I got a huge smile on my face.

 

“Bull? Is that you?” I stood on tip toe and saw Iron Bull and his wife Tatianna standing in the back of the crowd and I shoved my way back to where they were standing.

 

“Spitfire, how are you?” Bull laughed and caught me up in a bear hug before dropping me so I could hug Tatianna and Krem as well.

 

“Great! Well, we’re actually in a spot of trouble at the moment, but what are you doing here?” I asked excitedly, nearly bouncing about from joy. The Chargers had essentially taken over the role of being my clan before I joined up with Thorin and Company and I loved these guys to death.

 

“It’s a bit of a story. Why don’t we talk after this gets sorted out?” He said and waded through the crowd with me.

 

“Spitfire here is a part time mercenary, part of my Chargers, but I can tell you right now she wouldn’t steal unless she was desperate.” Bull spoke up, vouching for me.

 

“And if I’m right, this man over here is Thorin, son of Thrain, son of Thror. The King under the Mountain, right?” Tatianna added in, nodding over at Thorin. He stepped forward, nodding at Tatianna and the crowd murmured in amazement.

 

“We are the dwarves of Erebor. We have come to reclaim our homeland. I remember this town and the great days of old. Fleets of boats lay at harbor, filled with silks and fine gems. This was no forsaken town on a lake! This was the center of all trade in the North! I would see those days return. I would relight the great forges of the dwarves and send wealth and riches flowing once more from the halls of Erebor!” Thorin spoke earnestly and the people around us cheered and applauded him.

 

“Death! That is what you will bring upon us. Dragon-fire and ruin. If you awaken that beast, it will destroy us all.” Bard called over the crowd, walking forward to where we all stood. A queasy feeling in my gut told me he could be right and Valora looked uncomfortable now as well, and the people began to whisper anxiously.

 

“You can listen to this naysayer, but I promise you this; if we succeed, all will share in the wealth of the mountain. You will have enough gold to rebuild Esgaroth ten times over!”

 

I knew Thorin justly believed in what he was saying, but some nagging feeling in the back of my mind told me otherwise. I didn’t want to believe it; my love would never go back on his word, but my gut was never wrong. The people began to cheer anew, applauding once more until Bard began to speak again.

 

“All of you! Listen to me! You must listen! Have you forgotten what happened to Dale?!”

 

The people quieted down, shaking their heads sadly. They remembered; how could they forget something so terrible?

 

“Have you forgotten those who died in the firestorm?”

 

The word no filled the air as people shouted it, the noise getting louder and louder the more everyone got worked up.

 

“And for what purpose? The blind ambition of a mountain-king so driven by greed, he could not see beyond his own desire!”

 

Bull nudged me and motioned for me to follow him before things got more heated and I quickly took off after him, eager to get away from the fighting, just for a while.


	22. You are My Heart

“So, what are you doing here Bull? I’m surprised to see you and the Chargers here in Laketown of all places.” I was leaning back in a chair, a mug of ale in my hand, sitting in a tavern Tatianna’s father owned.

 

“Bard hired us to keep an eye on the Master of this place. He really doesn’t trust him and I can see why, he’s a secretive kind of person.” Bull said after draining his mug.

 

“What are you doing here? And with a group of dwarves no less.” Tatianna asked with a curious smile.

 

“You heard what Thorin said; he’s here to take Erebor back and I signed on to help. We’re going to be fighting Smaug possibly and I cannot say I’m thrilled over it. The smaller females in Thedas I can handle. These bigger dragons? I don’t know. It seems a little much and most certainly more deadly.” I shrugged. Bull’s eye got wide and he beamed happily at the mention of the dragon.

 

“You’re going to fight a dragon? Oh man, can I come along? It’s been ages since we’ve fought any dragons!”

 

“Bull…” Tatianna looked concerned and he sighed.

 

“Kadan do you want to come along? It’ll be fun and think of the _mayhem_ , Tat! We could launch the dwarves at this dragon! Mayhem, kadan, mayhem!”

 

I burst out laughing at Bull’s enthusiasm and so did Tatianna, both of us laughing uproariously and started laughing even harder when Krem walked in with Thorin and the others trailing behind him, all of them giving us strange looks.

 

“Did we miss something?” Bofur asked, looking at us strangely as our laughter finally subsided to giggles and wiping tears away that were running down our faces.

 

“Don’t worry about it Bofur. Krem de la crème, how are you?” I asked with a smirk, using one of Bull’s many nicknames for our friend.

 

“Not too bad, Ash. Good to see you again.” He chuckled and went to get himself some ale.

 

“So, what is the plan?” I asked, getting to my feet and looking to Thorin expectantly.

 

“The Master will give us everything we’ll need and we shall leave for the Mountain in the morning. They wish to celebrate tonight with a feast.”

 

“While you guys do that, I’m going to stick around here with my old mercenary group. Oh, but before I forget, Thorin, this is The Iron Bull and Tatianna. They gave me work when no one else would and essentially became my family. Bull, Tatianna, this is Thorin Oakenshield. He’s… We’re…” I trailed off, unsure of how to say what we were when I didn’t even know myself.

 

“He’s your kadan.” Tatianna finished for me, a knowing look on her face and I nodded, relieved she understood what I was trying to say. Thorin looked at us, eyebrows raised at the unfamiliar term and Bull smiled at him, clapping his hand on Thorin’s shoulder and led him over to the bar for drinks.

 

“He’s cute, Ash. Does he treat you well? I’ve heard he’s not a fan of elves, so it’s a little surprising to see you two together.” Tatianna leaned back, her elbow resting on the chair behind her.

 

“Yes, Tatianna, he’s wonderful. We still butt heads over things, but I’ve come to really care for him.” I replied, watching Bull and Thorin talking and Thorin started laughing harder than I’d ever seen him laugh, well, ever. Bull had that effect on people; he could make even the most stoic person smile and laugh.

 

“… so I picked her up and threw her at this dragon, and Tatianna is yelling at me that I’d hurt her, but Ashanna, bless her for this, lands on the dragon’s face and without even hesitating, she rams her blade into the eye all the way up to her elbow. So this dragon is shrieking and writhing about in pain but all it manages to do is shove Ashanna’s arm further into the ruined eye socket and she’s yelling and trying to wrench her sword out of the eye without much luck-“

 

“And you stood there cackling about mayhem before charging the thing and hacking into its soft, fleshy neck, which sent the dragon into a fit and Ashanna went flying and crash landed into a nest, crushing all of the eggs and she was covered in yolks and eye goo and she was screaming at Bull angrily and screaming at how disgusting this was and Bull nearly got roasted before I finished the beast off because he was too busy yelling at her about how the mayhem worked.” Tatianna finished telling Thorin that story and I felt my face flare red as Thorin and Bofur roared with laughter.

 

“You actually allowed him to throw you?” Dwalin chuckled, wiping tears from his eyes and I shrugged sheepishly.

 

“Yes, well, it was more Bull picked me up and gave me a moment’s notice before launching me at a very angry mother dragon. I was lucky that she was too distracted to burn me to a crisp in midair.” I snorted. Everyone couldn’t quit laughing as Bull mimicked my screaming, Valora and Akasha howling the loudest out of them all because they knew that scream all too well.

 

“Yes, alright, I was launched at a dragon and it was hilarious. Maybe I should tell them about the time Krem, Dalish and I made you wet your trousers.” I grinned devilishly and Bull froze, his drink part way to his lips.

 

“You wouldn’t dare.”

 

“Oh, I would.”

 

Things were quiet and then we all burst out laughing again, drinking merrily and Bull suggested a round of Wicked Grace.

 

“Ah if only Varric were here. He was a great opponent for this game.” I laughed, thinking about one of the first dwarves I’d ever made friends with as Bull shuffled and dealt out the cards.

 

“Do you mean Varric Tethras by chance?” Balin asked curiously and I nodded.

 

“Yes, do you know him Balin?”

 

“Aye, Varric was but a wee lad last time I saw him, but he was smart as a whip. Quite the little story teller too if I recall right.”

 

“Ha oh he is still quite the story teller. Last I’d heard, he was working with a woman by the name of Hawke.”

 

“Yes, I’ve met Hawke. She’s a lot like Bull, only a human woman. Terrible puns are her favorite things.” Tatianna chuckled and Bull pretended to be offended.

 

 

“Kadan! I thought you loved my puns!” He dramatically cried out and hugged her close to him, placing a gentle kiss on her temple. After a few more hands of Wicked Grace and a few more drinks, we went to see what this feast was all about, Bull and Krem being obnoxiously loud the whole time, but it was a great night celebrating with friends before we made our way to the mountain tomorrow.

 

“Right, there’s plenty of room at my grandfather’s inn. Come, stay with us tonight!” Tatianna said, her voice slurred a little from the Qunari drink she and Bull had been drinking most of the eve.

 

“That would be lovely. Thank you Tatianna. Thorin, we’re sharing a room right?” I asked, a bit drunk myself. He had an easy going smile on his face and he nodded in affirmation that we would be sharing a room and the look in his eyes told me something else would be going on when we retired to our room. Tatianna gave us directions and a key to a room that was empty and Thorin and I left without anyone else noticing us go, eager to get a little alone time together. As soon as we got into the room and shut the door, Thorin tossed me on to the bed and pinned my hands above my head and kissed me roughly, nipping at my bottom lip before kissing away the sting of his teeth, then moved to my neck, nibbling and sucking, leaving behind angry red marks that would bruise later but I didn’t give a damn. He removed my armor, tossing it aside and let my wrists go briefly so he could pull his shirt off and the rest of his clothing as well as mine. I was panting and gasping, begging him for more as he parted my legs and lapped at my folds, his tongue dipping into me, then flicking against my clit, his lips wrapping around the little nub as he suckled at it and I let out a loud moan, hips bucking against his hungry mouth, my fingers twining in his hair and tugging as I writhed under his touch.

 

“ _Ma vhenan_!” My voice was cracking and I felt my body shudder as he continued to lick, nibble and suck, bringing me to the edge of my orgasm then stopping, letting me calm down before starting back up again. I writhed, nearly screaming with need when he flipped me over and took me from behind, his hands gripping my hips tightly as he thrust into my dripping wet pussy. Stars filled my vision as he took me harder and faster, slower and tenderer, alternating paces, prolonging the pleasure I was receiving.

 

“ _Ma vhenan_ … Please, I-I…” My breath was hitching, keeping me from finishing my sentence, but he knew what I was asking because I felt him reach and his rough fingers toyed with my clit as he snapped his hips forward, faster and harder, growling out his pleasure as he spent himself in me. I cried out, vision black and stars burst behind my eyes as I rode out the most intense orgasm I’d experienced, and collapsed onto the soft mattress next to Thorin. He was sweat slicked and breathing hard, and he pulled me close to him, his lips covering mine in a sweet, gentle kiss before resting his forehead against mine.

 

“I love you. I love you, I love you, I love you.” He whispered and gently brushed my damp blonde hair out of my face. I caught his hand in mine and pressed a kiss to the palm, and smiled softly.

 

“I love you too, _ma vhenan_.”


	23. Plagued with Doubts

Morning had come, leaving Thorin and I both hungover and exhausted from a night of passion and confessions of love, but we still had to get to the mountain, so here we were, getting ready to go to the dock and get in the boat to take us to the Mountain.

 

“Shit… I’m going to need something to cover this up.” I murmured, seeing all the little bruises that were scattered along my neck and collarbone. Thorin only smirked and finished getting ready to go. I tightened my armor up and grabbed my weapons, heading out and tossing the keys to Tatianna, thanking her for letting us stay.

 

“You do know we’re one short; where’s Bofur?” Bilbo asked as we strode down to the dock.

 

“If he’s not here, we leave him behind.” Thorin replied, not even looking Bilbo’s way. Bull was waiting with Grim, Dalish, and Rocky by the boat, making sure extra supplies were loaded up.

 

“We have to, if we’re to find the door before nightfall. We can risk no more delays.” Balin added and when we got to the boat, Thorin and Bull nodded at each other and everyone began to board.

 

“Not you. We must travel with speed, you will slow us down.” Thorin had stopped Kili before he could get on the boat and Kili smiled, thinking Thorin was joking.

 

“What are you talking about? I’m coming with you.” He said and his smile faded when Thorin shook his head.

 

“No.” His voice was firm and he meant it. Fili, Valora and Akasha turned to look at Thorin and Kili, surprised with Thorin’s answer.

 

“I’m going to be there when that door is opened, when we first look upon the halls of our fathers, Thorin.” Kili protested, determined to come with us.

 

“Kili, stay here. Rest. Join us when you’re healed.” Thorin said in a gentler tone and smiled at him, but the look of shock and betrayal on his face was heart wrenching. Thorin turned to get on the boat and Oin and Akasha got off.

 

“I’m staying with Kili, Thorin. I’d rather stay with him than go without him.” Akasha said and Thorin nodded a little.

 

“I’ll stay with the lad, too. My duty lies with the wounded.” Oin patted Thorin on the shoulder and stood next to Kili and Akasha.

 

“Uncle, we grew up on tales of the mountain. Tales you told us. You can’t take that away from him!” Fili protested angrily. I hated seeing them argue, but Fili was right; Kili deserved to be here for this.

 

“Fili.”

 

“I will carry him, if I must!” Fili yelled angrily.

 

“One day you will be king, and you will understand. I cannot risk the fate of this quest for the sake of one dwarf, not even my own kin.” Thorin explained and Fili looked away over to Kili, then grabbed Valora’s hand and they climbed off the boat, Thorin trying to stop them.

 

“Fili, don’t be a fool. You belong with the Company.”

 

“I belong with my brother.” Fili pulled away from Thorin and they went to join Akasha, Oin and Kili.

 

~*~*~

 

We had made it across the lake and had climbed the foothills of the mountain, no one saying a word as we walked. At one point, Thorin recognized the landscape and ran atop an embankment overlooking a valley and as we joined him, we could see the ruins of Dale at the other end of the valley.

 

“What is this place?” Bilbo asked quietly.

 

“It was once the city of Dale. Now it is a ruin. The desolation of Smaug.” Balin murmured. 

 

“The sun will soon reach midday; let’s find the hidden door into the mountain before it sets. This way!”

 

“Wait… is this the overlook? Gandalf said to meet him here. On no account were we-“

 

“Do you see him? We have no time to wait upon the wizard. We’re on our own.” Thorin said before turning and walking away.

 

“Come.”

 

I hesitated, biting my lip and called out to Thorin against my better judgement.

 

“Thorin, Gandalf said to wait for him here. Maybe we should.”

 

He turned and walked back over to me, taking my hands in his and brought them up, kissing my knuckles softly.

 

“We must go without him. I know you wish to listen to him, but he is not here and we do not have time to wait.”

 

After a moment, I slowly nodded and followed after him and the others.

 

“Are you sure about this, Spitfire? Your kadan seems… off all of a sudden.” Bull asked me quietly as we walked in the back of the group, keeping an eye out for trouble.

 

“I’m not sure anymore, Bull. I love him, and I want to support him but this? I don’t know if this is the right thing anymore.” I whispered back, worry in the pit of my stomach and a sinking feeling to match it as I watched my love lead the way to find the hidden door.


	24. Smaug

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I ended up editing this chapter and I'l be editing the next few chapters too. It wasn't sitting well with me having Thorin backhand her and I just really needed to change it. Sorry for those of you who have already read this chapter! I just couldn't see Thorin backhanding her, not after all they'd been through.

Sundown had come, showing us the way into the mountain and I’d almost wished Bilbo hadn’t figured out the riddle on the map. We could have turned around and gone back to Laketown with the others and figured something else out.

 

 

“Erebor.” Thorin was smiling as we peered into the tunnel that had been revealed to us.

 

 

“Thorin…” Balin was choked up and Thorin put a hand on his shoulder and then walked into the mountain. Bull, Dalish, Rocky and I hesitated a moment before walking in after everyone the darkness making me nervous.

 

“I know these walls… these walls, this stone. You remember it, Balin. Chambers filled with golden light.” As Thorin said this, he ran his hands over the stone walls, lost in a memory.

 

“Welcome home, Children of the Stone.” My voice was soft as I spoke and the company members who did hear me, gently squeezed my hands, thanking me in soft voices.

 

“What’s this?” Dalish asked, pointing to a carving in the wall above the door; it was a throne with a stone above it with rays going in all directions.

 

“Herein lies the seventh kingdom of Durin’s Folk. May the heart of the mountain unite all dwarves in defense of this home.” Gloin and Rocky read out loud together. Bilbo looked at the carving with Dalish, their faces holding interest and curiosity as they studied it.

 

“The throne of the king.” Balin said to them and Dalish tilted her head and pointed up the stone above it.

 

“And what’s this above it?” She asked, glancing over at Balin.

 

“The Arkenstone.” Balin replied with a smile.

 

“Arkenstone… And what’s that?” Bilbo asked with a puzzled frown.

 

“That, Master Baggins, is why you and Ashanna are here.” Thorin said, turning to face us.

 

“You want us to find a jewel?” I asked with raised eyebrows, looking at Balin like he was crazy.

 

“A large white jewel, yes.” He nodded.

 

“That’s it? Only, I imagine there’s quite a few down there.” Bilbo added skeptically, glancing over at me with a look on his face that told me he wasn’t so sure of this and I was agreeing with him very quickly.

 

“There is only one Arkenstone. You’ll know it when you see it.” Balin said with a knowing look.

 

“Alright. Ashanna, are you ready?”

 

“Just a moment. Dalish, can you make me invisible by chance?” I asked her and she hesitated a moment.

 

“With my bow?” She asked meekly, her eyes wide.

 

I groaned and threw my hands into the air.

 

“Yes, Dalish, with your bow.” I snapped softly and she grinned, grabbed her staff and worked her magic.

 

“It’s only temporary, Spitfire. Don’t take too long because it won’t last forever. You have enough time to get in, find that stone and get out.” Dalish said after casting her spell.

 

“Okay, let’s go Bilbo.” I said and walked into the tunnel, pausing when Bilbo did.

 

“In truth, lad, I do not know what you will find down there. You needn’t go if you don’t want to, there’s no dishonor in turning back. And Ashanna? I know you and Thorin have grown very close and he wouldn’t want anything to happen to you, lass.” Balin said and I shook my head, reusing to quit now that we were so close.

 

“No, Balin, I promised I would do this, and I think I must try.” Bilbo said firmly, confident but nervous. Balin stared at Bilbo then began to chuckle appreciatively. 

 

“It never ceases to amaze me.”

 

“What’s that?”

 

“The courage of Hobbits. Go now with as much luck as you can muster. Oh, and Bilbo, Ashanna… if there is, in fact, a live dragon down there, don’t waken it.”

 

~*~*~

 

“Bilbo? Have you found it yet?” I whispered as we waded through the mountains of gold searching for the Arkenstone and Bilbo shook his head, disappointed. I muttered curses under my breath and motioned that I was going to cross to the other side of the massive room.

 

 _So far no sign of Smaug, which is good. I’m sure Bull’s just wetting his pants up there, wanting to fight the damned creature. Now that I’m here, I really wish I’d never come._ I thought, searching for this damned stone. Suddenly, the room began to move and I froze as Smaug lifted his head, sniffing the air, and looking around for us.

 

“Well, thief, I smell you. I hear your breath. I feel your air. Where are you?”

 

 _Shit! Shit, shit, shit!_ I thought, freezing in place, trying to stay calm.

 

“Come now, don’t be shy. Step into the light. Mmm, there is something about you, something you carry. Something made of gold, but far more… PRECIOUSSSSS.”

 

I sprinted as fast as I possibly could, slipping and sliding over the gold when Bilbo appeared in front of the beast, his eyes wide with terror and I slid in next to him.

 

“There you are, thief in the shadows.”

 

“We did not come to steal from you, O Smaug the Unassessably Wealthy. We merely wanted to gaze upon your magnificence, to see if you really were as great as the old tales say. Neither of us believed them.” Bilbo said and upon hearing this, Smaug stomped a few feet away so we could see his whole body. He was at least ten times the size of the dragons I was used to fighting and they were fairly big themselves.

 

“And do you now?!” Smaug demanded haughtily.

 

“Truly, the tales and songs fall utterly short of your enormity, O Smaug the Stupendous.” I called in a sweet voice. Smaug seemed a little taken off guard to hear a woman’s voice and he craned his neck around, trying to find me.

 

“Do you think flattery will keep you alive?” He demanded after a moment.

 

“No- no, no.” Bilbo stammered nervously, looking at the direction my voice came from.

 

“No, indeed. You seem familiar with my name, but I don’t remember smelling your kind before. Who are you, and where do you come from?”

 

“I am but a wanderer, long lived and always searching for a home to call my own.” I called out in reply to his question, praying he wouldn’t know that I was a Dalish.

 

“I-I come from under the hill.” Bilbo replied and motioned for me to look where he was pointing. There, under a small pile of gold, was the Arkenstone; it was a small, white gem glowing with unnatural light.

 

“Underhill?”

 

“And under hills and over hills my path has led. And, and, through the air. I am he who walks unseen.”

 

As Bilbo entertained Smaug with riddles, I snuck over and grabbed the Arkenstone, gripping it tightly in my hands and nodded to Bilbo that I had it. He nodded back and motioned for me to go on without him.

 

“No.” I mouthed but he kept waving a hand frantically and I finally relented, stealing away and dashing up the tunnel just as my invisibility wore off.

 

“Ashanna? What happened? Is everything alright?”

 

I was bent over, breathing hard and I shook my head, trying to catch my breath, when all of a sudden, a loud noise echoed through the mountain and I froze, wondering where Bilbo was.

 

“Was that an earthquake?” Nori asked, getting to his feet slowly.

 

“That, my lad… was a dragon.” 

 

Thorin looked worried and I couldn’t blame him. I was worried too.

 

“Spitfire! Get over here and look at this.” Bull called from the clearing and I darted out, Thorin and Balin following me. There was an orange glow coming from the front door of the mountain.

 

“What about Bilbo?” Ori asked, looking at Thorin with concern on his face.

 

“Give him more time.”

 

“Time to do what? To be killed?” Balin demanded.

 

“You’re afraid.”

 

“Yes, I’m afraid. I fear for YOU. A sickness lies upon that treasure hoard, a sickness that drove your grandfather mad.” Balin said after a moment, then stood up to Thorin, worry on his face.

 

“I am not my grandfather.”

 

“You’re not yourself. The Thorin I know would not hesitate to go in there-“ Balin began but Thorin cut him off quickly.

 

“I will not risk this quest for the life of one burglar. Our other one made it out and that is all that matters.”

 

“Bilbo. His name is Bilbo.” Balin replied, looking at Thorin in disgust.

 

“Thorin, how could you say that? My life is not greater than Bilbo’s in any way.” I looked at him, confused at this change in attitude.

 

“No, it’s not, but we still need a burglar if the other one dies.”

 

His words stung and I backed away from him, grateful I’d kept that damned stone hidden away in my breastplate. I walked over to Dalish and spoke softly to her and slipped her the Arkenstone to hold on to for me. She hid it away, making sure it was tied up tightly and well out of sight and gave me a slight nod.

 

“I’m going to save Bilbo. Bull? Are you and the Chargers with me?” I asked, whirling on my feet to look at Bull.

 

“Horns up!” Bull grinned and the others echoed him, rallying behind me and we raced into the tunnel, pausing as flames light up the walls and I nodded when Thorin joined us, his sword out, ready to go and we made it out onto the overhang we’d come to earlier. Bilbo came running up to us and I was relieved to see him alive.

 

“You’re alive!”

 

“Not for much longer!” Bilbo snapped and Thorin caught his arm before he could start running.

 

“Did you find the Arkenstone?” Thorin demanded to know and Bilbo briefly looked at me and I barely shook my head no.

 

“The dragon’s coming!”

 

“The Arkenstone!”

 

We were standing at the entrance of the tunnel, but Thorin was blocking the way.

 

“Thorin! Move!” I snapped but he ignored me and continued to stare Bilbo down.

 

“Did you find it?”

 

“No. We have to get out.”

 

Bilbo and I tried to enter the tunnel, but Thorin swung his sword, blocking the entrance. He pressed the blade against Bilbo and he stumbles back, pulling me with him, the sword still touching Bilbo’s chest.

 

“Thorin! Thorin, stop it! What is wrong with you?” I shouted, grabbing his arm and pulling him back. He turned, his face steel and emotionless as he opened his mouth to snap at me when Bilbo let out a startled yelp. He looked to the side and we all turned our heads to see what he was looking at and I let out a screech of surprise when I saw Smaug approaching us from over a mountain of treasure. Smaug recognized Thorin and he snarled viciously at him, but before anyone, even Smaug, could react, the other dwarves came rushing in, weapons drawn and pointed at the angry dragon.

 

“I think it’s time for a little Spitfire mayhem.” I yelled to Bull and he picked me up, raced to the edge of the stone and threw me as hard as he could. I shot through the air like an arrow, my eyes burning with tears from the hot air that was hitting my face, and I was more determined than ever to stop this worm from killing us. I hit his face, hard and I scrambled up and sliced a nostril with one of my daggers, holding on as best I could while he thrashed about, and I went for his eyes, partially damaging one of them before he threw me off. I soared through the air, tumbling head over heels and slammed into a stone pillar, dropping on to a pile of gold, gasping in pain, and struggled to get up, when Smaug slapped me with his tail, sending me skidding over the treasure and slamming into a wall. I could barely breathe and my vision was going dark as I struggled to get to my hands and knees. "Ashanna!" 

 

“You will burn!” Smaug roared, his voice making my ears bleed and I collapsed to the ground, the gold under me ice cold and it felt like it was burning my skin as I sank into darkness, grateful for the possibility of _uthenera_.


	25. Going Her Own Way

“Spitfire? Spitfire, come on, wake up.”

 

I groaned softly, turning my head away from the muffled voice.

 

“Ashanna, please, wake up. You’re not allowed to move on yet.”

 

“She’s not waking up. She’s not waking up! Thorin, she’s passing into the realms of the Creators. We have to get her to Valora. I’m not skilled enough to save her.” I could faintly hear Dalish panicking, her voice cracking with sadness as she fought back tears.

 

 _I’m dying? I suppose I am after that. Just as well. I should never have cheated death when it came for my clan. I should have fought and died with them._ My thoughts were fuzzy and I was fading in and out of life and death.

 

“No. No, not yet. Not now.” Bull choked out.

 

And then, the Creators or whoever was listening decided to send me back. I sat up, gasping for air, clawing at my throat as I struggled to breathe, and I looked around wildly, searching for Smaug.

 

“Where… where is the dragon?” I gasped, every word painful to get out.

 

“Dead and gone, Ashanna. You’ve been in and out of consciousness for a good while.” Rocky said.

 

“I am sorry you never got to fight him, Bull.”

 

“Are you kidding? I had the time of my life! I even got in a few good licks while we distracted him so Thorin could get down to rescue you.”

 

I looked about for Thorin, wondering where he was, when he came walking up quickly and knelt down next to me, checking my wounds.

 

“You are crazy, do you know that? You could have been killed." He scolded softly. I thanked him for his concern, smiling a little before getting to my feet.

 

“Dalish, walk with me, please. Bilbo, you too. I'm going to need a little help with this armor so Dalish can do some healing spells she does know.” I pulled them away from everyone, talking softly to them as we walked far off.

 

“Take this, Bilbo. I want nothing to do with it and I don’t want Dalish stuck with it.” I murmured, giving him the Arkenstone. Dalish gave my arm a gentle squeeze and waited long enough to actually take a look, do what she could and then she went back to Bull. 

 

“You were very brave to be thrown at Smaug like that." "Ha thank you Bilbo, but I think Thorin might be right about me being a little crazy. 

~*~*~

 

“WAIT! WAIT!”

 

I was startled from my uneasy sleep by Bilbo shouting at someone and I quickly and unsteadily got to my feet, going to see what the commotion was.

 

“It’s Bilbo! He’s alive!”

 

“Stop! Stop! Stop! You need to leave. We all need to leave.”

 

I walked closer to see what was going on and I saw Fili, Kili, Oin, Valora, Akasha and the rest of the Chargers were speaking in a corridor and I hurried over to speak with them. 

 

“We only just got here?!” Bofur yelped loudly.

 

“I have tried talking to him, but he won’t listen.”

 

“What do you mean, laddie?”

 

“THORIN. Thorin. Thorin. He’s been out there for days. He doesn’t sleep. He barely eats. He’s not been himself – not at all. It’s this – It’s this place. I think a sickness lies upon it. Ashanna, tell them." 

 

“Aye, it's true. He's been searching for that damned stone every second he can. He barely speaks to me unless it's to ask me if I'd seen it or that he loves me." I sighed and shook my head. "And we're running low on supplies, I'm going to have to go out and find a way to get more. Keep watch here and if you can, send me letters to keep me updated on how Thorin is, alright? I'll be back as soon as I can." I said and grabbed my weapons before taking off.


	26. Confronting Thorin

[Valora’s POV]

"Thorin, I have a message from Ashanna."

 

The dwarf king turned to look at me, pausing in his mad hunt for this Arkenstone.

 

"What is it Valora? Why can't she tell me herself?"

 

"Because she left to get more supplies. She said you were running low and she was worried about it. She's worried about you, Thorin. We all are." I informed him but instead of getting much of a reaction, he merely shrugged in response.

 

"Aren't you even going to give me a verbal reply? Or do you only care about this blasted gem? I thought your kin and Ashanna meant more to you than this." I snapped, forcing him to look at me again.

 

"They do."

 

"Then act like it! Stop making them search for a stone that has obviously been lost! These people care deeply about you and are concerned about your welfare. You have gone mad with greed, Thorin. It is dragon-sickness; you are becoming no better than the worm that has been killed." I spat, whirling on my heel and stomping away, furious that he could act like this and still claim to care.

 

"Valora?"

 

I turned to see Fili had followed after me and I sighed, sinking down to the ground to rest, leaning my head on his shoulder.

 

"I apologize. I do not lose my temper often and I did not wish for you and the others to witness it." I murmured and looked outside, wondering how far Ashanna had gotten and I prayed she would be alright.


	27. Chapter 27

[Ashanna’s POV]

 

I had made it to the ruins of Dale, surprised to see the people of Laketown there and my Uncle Thranduil as well. His eyes widened when he saw me, dismounted from his hart and pushed past Bard, running over to me and hugged me in a crushing grip.

 

 

“Where have you been?” He demanded hoarsely, holding me at arms-length, looking me over for injury. Bard came walking up, a surprised look on his face before it turned into a sad smile. "I am fine Uncle. A little bruised up from being thrown at Smaug and then by Smaug, but I will live. I did not expect to see you here, though I am grateful. We're low on supplies and we need more food." 

 

“ _Da’len_ , go to my tent, wait for me there. We’ll get you cleaned up and you can tell me what happened.”

 

I nodded slowly, gave Bard an almost smile and walked away to find my Uncle’s tent, ready to collapse. My heart ached as I sat there with a few of the other elves, listening to them speak but not really hearing them. All I could think of was Thorin and everything he said to me. I closed my eyes as his sweet words echoed in my ears, bringing tears to my eyes again.

 

“My lady?”

 

I opened my eyes and saw one of the guards looking at me with an odd look on his face.

 

“My lady, are you alright?”

 

“Yes, I’m fine, but I have to leave. I have something to do.” I quickly threw on my armor and turned to leave when I ran into my Uncle.

 

“I’m so sorry, Uncle, but there’s something I have to do.” I apologized but he motioned for me to wait and stepped aside when Gandalf came in.

 

“Gandalf? Where have you been?” I demanded, hugging the old man tightly and stepped back so he could speak.

 

“You must set aside your petty grievances with the dwarves. War is coming! The cesspits of Dol Guldar have been emptied. You’re ALL in mortal danger.” Gandalf exclaimed to Thranduil and Bard. They argued over what was going on and I was so sick of fighting, that I left the tent, unable to deal with the constant arguing anymore. I had to get back to the mountain to talk to Thorin. I had to make him understand no gold was worth losing love over, no gold was worth losing friendships over, and no gold was worth a war between our people. I just needed a way to sneak away before my Uncle realized I was gone.

 

“It will not come to that. This is a fight they cannot win.”

 

I turned and saw Bard speaking with Gandalf and I grinned when Bilbo came walking up to them.

 

“That won’t stop them. You think the dwarves will surrender – they won’t. They will fight to the death to defend their own.”

 

“Bilbo!”

 

“Bilbo Baggins.”

 

“Ashanna? Have you only just arrived?" Bilbo asked and I nodded. "Yes, I have. I need supplies but no one is helping me. I may have to go further from here." I sighed softly. Gandalf shook his head a little and had me come with him and Bilbo back to my Uncle's tent. 

 

“If I’m not mistaken, this is the Halfling who stole the keys to my dungeons from under the nose of my guards.”

 

Bilbo looked extremely uncomfortable and he cleared his throat before speaking to him.

 

“Yes. Sorry about that.” He winced at Thranduil’s look and it got quiet for a moment before Bilbo took a wrapped package and began to unwrap it and I knew what he brought with him, my eyes getting wide at the sight.

 

“The heart of the mountain! The King’s Jewel!” Uncle Thranduil had jumped to his feet in surprise and Gandalf and Bard had approached to see as well, awe on their faces.

 

“And worth a king’s ransom. How is this yours to give?” Bard asked Bilbo.

 

“I took it as my fourteenth share of the treasure.” He said and Gandalf smiled slightly.

 

“Why would you do this? You owe us no loyalty.”

 

“I’m not doing it for you. I know that dwarves can be obstinate and pigheaded and difficult, suspicious and secretive… with the worst manners you can possibly imagine, but they are also brave and kind… loyal to a fault. I’ve grown very fond of them, and I would save them if I can. Thorin values this stone almost above all else. In exchange for its return, I believe he will give you what you are owed. There will be no need for war!” Bilbo said in a matter-of-fact tone of voice.

 

“You said almost above all else. What does he value more than this gem?” Bard asked, puzzled with Bilbo’s words.

 

“He values Ashanna above all else.”

 

~*~*~

 

[Thorin’s POV]

 

I watched from above the blockade as Bard and Thranduil rode with their armies behind them, approaching their side of the bridge, and I drew my bow back and shot an arrow at the ground between Bard and Thranduil, who halted immediately in surprise.

 

“I will put the next one between your eyes!” I shouted down to them and I meant it. If they came any closer, I would not hesitate to shoot them and I drew my bow again, aiming it at them, everyone on the wall cheering and shaking their weapons loudly. Thranduil stared at us angrily, then slightly tilted his head. Instantly, several rows of elves near the front of the army pull out their bows, nock their arrows and aimed at us in one fluid motion. The others cheers cut off quickly and they ducked down behind the ramparts. The elves held their pose for a few seconds before Thranduil raised his hand, and they put away their arrows. I kept my bow drawn, however, suspicious and wary of what was going on.

 

“We’ve come to tell you: payment of your debt has been offered… and accepted.” Thranduil called up much to my bewilderment.

 

“What payment? I have given you nothing! You have nothing!” I yelled back angrily.

 

“We have this.” Bard reached into his robe and pulled out the Arkenstone, holding it above his head. I was shocked and lowered my bow slowly, wondering how they got it.

 

“They have the Arkenstone? Thieves! How came you by the heirloom of our house? That stone belongs to the king!” Kili shouted furiously. Thranduil motioned behind him and I watched as two elves threw Ashanna down on the ground roughly, her hands bound in rope in front of her, a pained cry coming from her as she hit the ground with her knees.

 

“Ashanna!” Valora yelled racing to look over the edge at her sister.

 

“Is your own kin nothing more than a bargaining tool?” She yelled at her Uncle and he shrugged his shoulders.

 

“It was mentioned that the dwarf valued her above all else. If he would not settle the debt with the return of the Arkenstone, then perhaps he would settle the debt if he could have Ashanna back.”

 

“They are taking us for fools. This is a ruse, a filthy lie.” I muttered to myself and stepped forward again.

 

“THE ARKENSTONE IS IN THIS MOUNTAIN! IT IS A TRICK!”

 

“It-It’s no trick. The stone is real. I gave it to them.” Bilbo spoke up, standing tall and I looked at the hobbit, shocked and angry with the halfling’s betrayal.


	28. The Battle Begins

[Ashanna’s POV]

 

“You…” 

 

I watched as Thorin stared Bilbo down, furious about the Arkenstone being in Bard’s hands.

 

“I took it as my fourteenth share.” Bilbo explained carefully.

 

“You would steal from me?” Thorin demanded and I was worried what would happen to my friend. After all, it was my fault this was happening.

 

“Steal from you? No. No. I may be a burglar, but I like to think I’m an honest one. I’m willing to let it stand against my claim.” Bilbo replied calmly.

 

 

“Against your claim?! Your claim! You have no claim over me you miserable rat!” Thorin threw his bow down in anger and came at Bilbo, and I knew I had to say something.

 

“Thorin, stop! It was my fault! I found it and held onto it! I gave it to Bilbo because I wanted nothing to do with the gem but I was afraid to let you have it! You’re sick, _ma vhenan_! I know you have heard it over and over, but for my sake listen! It is a dragon-sickness! Do not let it take your mind any more than it already has!” I screamed up at him from the ground. He stopped and looked at me, surprise and contempt on his face.

 

“Ashanna is right. You are changed, Thorin! The dwarf I met in Bag End would never have gone back on his word! Would never have doubted the loyalty of his kin!” Bilbo added with sadness in his voice.

 

“Do not speak to me… of loyalty!” Thorin shouted, his gaze ripping off of me and back to Bilbo.

 

“Throw him from the rampart!”

 

“No! Thorin stop this madness!” I screeched. I was terrified for Bilbo’s life and I praised the Creators that the others just looked at Thorin in shock, stepping away from Bilbo in confusion.

 

“DO YOU HEAR ME?!” He roared and grabbed Fili’s arm but Fili shook him away and moved to stand in front of Valora protectively just in case and Kili did the same, resting a hand on Akasha’s arm, keeping her back out of the way.

 

“I will do it myself!” Thorin lunged forward and grabbed Bilbo, shoving him roughly to the rampart.

 

“CURSE YOU!”

 

“No!” Fili shouted as Thorin struggled with Bilbo, the other dwarves rushing in, trying to pull Thorin away, but he managed to get a firm hold on him and began to push him over the edge.

 

“Cursed be the Wizard that forced you on this Company!”

 

Just when I thought Bilbo would go tumbling over, Gandalf came walking through the armies that stood there, watching on in horror and disgust, his voice incredibly loud, deep and powerful.

 

“IF YOU DON’T LIKE MY BURGLAR…” His voice returned to normal when he stopped next to me. “Then please don’t damage him. Return him to me! You’re not making a very splendid figure as king under the mountain, are you? Thorin, son of Thrain!”

 

Thorin slowly let Bilbo up and the others rushed in to help him get up to his feet.

 

“Never again will I have dealings with wizards…”

 

Bofur gently pushed Bilbo towards a rope that he had left there and told him to go, and Bilbo did just that, quickly throwing his rope over the side so he could climb down.

 

“Or Shire-rats!”

 

“Are we resolved? The return of Ashanna and the Arkenstone for what was promised?” Bard called after Bilbo made it over to us. I looked up at Thorin, praying he’d do the right thing. He was breathing heavily and looked out at a ridge in the distance, almost like he was searching for someone or something.

 

“Give us your answer! Will you have peace or war?”

 

 _Thorin please, do the right thing. No one needs to die today._ I watched Thorin bow his head and a large raven flew overhead, landing beside Thorin and the two stare at each other.

 

“I will have war!”

 

I closed my eyes, cursing this treasure and the dragon-sickness. Bilbo knelt down and cut the binds on my wrists and I groaned softly, rubbing the feeling back into them and my hands and fingers.

 

“Thank you… Bilbo I am so, so sorry. If I had known his reaction would have been that bad, I would have spoken up much sooner.” I mumbled, my face red from embarrassment. He shushed me and before I could ask why, a loud rumbling caught my ears. I rose to my feet and saw hundreds, if not thousands of dwarfs marching over the ridge, led by a rather large dwarf that was riding a battle-pig.

 

“Ironfoot.” Gandalf muttered and I glanced over at him, eyebrows raised in mild confusion. The dwarves behind us began to cheer and I realized this was who Thorin was waiting for while we discussed my return along with the Arkenstone.

 

“Who is that? He doesn’t look very happy.” Bilbo said as we hurried to meet with these dwarves to see what was happening.

 

“It is Dain, lord of the Iron Hills – Thorin’s cousin.” Gandalf explained hurriedly.

 

“Are they alike?”

 

“I always found Thorin the more reasonable of the two.”

 

 _Well that’s just… comforting._ I thought with a sigh and an eye roll. The two armies halted a short distance apart and Dain rode his pig onto a rocky overlook to speak with us.

 

“Good morning! How are we all? I have a wee proposition, if you wouldn’t mind giving me a few moments of your time. Would you consider… just sodding off!” Dain shouted cheerfully and the Laketown people stepped back, frightened, while the elves pulled out their swords and stepped forward, feeling more antagonized than they already felt.

 

“All of you – right now!”

 

“Stand fast!” Bard yelled at his people while Gandalf strode forward to speak with this Dain.

 

“Come now, lord Dain!” He said, trying to keep this as friendly as possible.

 

“Gandalf the Grey. Tell this rabble to leave, or I’ll water the ground with their blood!”

 

“There is no need for war between dwarves, men and elves! A legion of orcs march on the mountain. Stand your army down!” Gandalf shouted, trying to get someone to listen to him. Dain snorted and scowled a little at Gandalf.

 

“I will not stand down before any elf! Not least this faithless woodland sprite!” Dain gestured to my Uncle, who looked angry.

 

“He wishes nothing but ill on my people! If he chooses to stand between me and my kin – I’ll split his pretty head open! See if he’s still smirking then!”

 

My Uncle was smiling furiously and I had had enough of the insults and the fighting and arguing. I pushed my way to the middle of the two armies and put my hands on my hips.

 

“ENOUGH! I HAVE HEARD ENOUGH BICKERING TO LAST ME SEVERAL LIFETIMES!” I screamed at the top of my lungs and everyone stopped what they were doing, surprised.

 

“Creators, this is why Dalish don’t go near people! All you do is fight and argue and hate everything and everyone! This war is needless! No one needs to die today!” I continued, looking between both Dain and my Uncle.

 

“You must be the She-Elf Thorin spoke of. He said you were quite the special lass. Why are you down here with them and not with Thorin?” Dain called and I sighed heavily.

 

“I left to get supplies and got used as a bargaining chip! Trust me, lord Dain, I would love nothing more than to be with Thorin right now, but this, this all has to stop.” I spoke passionately, just tired of fighting. I wanted peace, not war and I would do anything to make the fighting end. As the armies prepared for war anyways, there was yet another loud rumbling and suddenly, at the spur of a mountain, these giant worms came bursting through the rock.

 

“Oh, come on!” Dain yelled and I secretly agreed with him. This was just ridiculous now. I could see Azog and a few other Orcs standing on top a hill with several contraptions made of wood, rope and cloth and I realized they were meant to give signals. A horn sounded and legions of Orcs came swarming out of the tunnels made by those worms.

 

“The hordes of hell are upon us! To battle! To battle, sons of Durin!” Dain yelled and he and part of his army charge towards to Orcs. The elves stayed where they were and I shouted for them to do something; the dwarves were clearly outnumbered and they needed help.

 

“The elves, will they not fight?” Bilbo asked Gandalf.

 

“Thranduil, this is madness!”

 

“Uncle! Uncle, please, I am begging you. Help them. They need us. We need to make a change, let it be today.” I pleaded, grabbing his hand and he looked down at me, lips tightening for a moment then sighed heavily, nodding and giving commands to his soldiers to help the dwarves.


	29. Big News

Screams echoed through the ruins of Dale as the Orcs poured through them, killing people left and right. I had found myself right in the middle of it all, killing trolls and Orcs, and saving people when I could. I was locked in a vicious sword fight with an Orc, growling in frustration as he blocked my daggers really well and he laughed nastily as the tip of his blade cut my cheekbone. I yelped in pain, reared back and slammed my foot into his chest, sending him flying into someone’s blade and twirled just in time to dodge another attack from a troll.

 

 _Where is Thorin? We can’t last much longer._ I thought, running up the troll’s arm and slamming my blade down into the top of its skull with a sickening crack. The corpse tumbled to the ground and I rolled gracefully, getting up quickly and charged another Orc. I moved with a dancer’s grace as I fought, weaving in and out of my attackers, confusing them and they would impale their comrades on accident, doing my job for me.

 

~*~*~

 

[Akasha’s POV]

 

I paced angrily, wanting to go help my sister and the dwarves and elves and people, but I was worried about leaving Kili here. As I past the throne room, I saw Dwalin and Thorin talking and I snuck into the room and hid so I could listen to them speak.

 

“Since when do we forsake our own people? Thorin, they are dying out there.” Dwalin said, but Thorin wasn’t even listening. He was so focused on something else and I had to sneak closer to hear.

 

“There are halls beneath these halls within this mountain – places we can fortify.”

 

I could see the disappointment and anger on Dwalin’s face and my heart ached for him; his kith and kin were out there, dying, and his king did not care.

 

“Shore up, make safe. Yes… Yes – that is it. We must move the gold further underground – to safety!”

 

My lip curled at the mention of that accursed treasure. That was all he gave a damn about it seemed. Thorin began to walk away and Dwalin looked furious at this point.

 

“Did you not hear me?! Dain is surrounded! They’re being slaughtered, Thorin! And Ashanna? She is fighting for her life. She could be dead or dying and you wouldn’t even know.”

 

“Many die in war. Life is cheap. But a treasure such as this cannot be counted in lives lost. It is worth all the blood we can spend.”

 

“Even the blood of your child? Ashanna is with child, Thorin. Balin and I have known for a few days and she is still out there fighting and you sit there in these vast halls, with a crown upon your head, and yet you are lesser now than you have ever been.”

 

I clapped a hand to my mouth at Dwalin’s words. Ashanna was with child? How far along was she? And why had she not said anything to Valora and I?

 

“Do not speak to me as if I was some lowly dwarf lord…” As he spoke, I could see how affected he was mentally.

 

“As-As if I were still… Thorin… Oakenshield. I AM YOUR KING!” Thorin roared, pulling his sword out, almost falling over with how unbalanced he was.

 

 

“You were always my king. You used to know that once,” Dwalin bowed his head in sorrow. “You cannot see what you have become.”

 

I snuck out while I could, but stuck near the door, listening close.

 

“Go! Get out… before I kill you.”

 

Dwalin turned and left and I fell in step with him, not saying a word, just putting a comforting hand on his shoulder.

 

“I suppose you heard what I said about your sister?”

 

“Yes. How far along is she? And… did she say why she didn’t tell us?”

 

“She’s only two weeks along, but she didn’t want to say anything because she was scared she’d lost it when Smaug threw her about and she nearly died. She only said anything to us because Balin guessed it and she confirmed. I’ve seen her cry before but I’ve never seen such a broken look on someone before. She’s scared to tell Thorin, and I probably should not have let it slip, but… he’s changed.” Dwalin sound so sad and I hugged him tightly.

 

“I am sorry, Dwalin. Now, more than ever, I need to get to my sister. Hah… It’s funny… We’re not biological sisters. None of us are. Valora was the eldest of the group and we were together so much and we all look so much alike that the clan just began to call us sisters and it’s stuck ever since.” I smiled sadly and walked away to find Valora.


	30. On the Hunt

[Ashanna’s POV]

 

I’d made it back out onto the plain, fighting my hardest with a whole blade and a broken one. I was out of arrows and my throwing knives were gone and I had no other weapons as a backup for once and I was exhausted. Suddenly, a trumpet sounded and I stopped, standing up straight and smiling when I saw it was Thorin and the others coming. I sprinted across the plain, my blades gripped tightly in my hands and held out to the side, decapitating any orcs I passed on my way to greet my friends.

 

“Dain! Watch out!” I shouted, whirling about like a top, killing orcs that were coming after Dain.

 

“Thank you, my lady.” He smiled and bowed, tipping me a wink. I laughed and bowed right back.

 

“You’re welcome kind sir.”

 

“Dain! Ashanna!”

 

“Thorin! Hold on! We’re coming!” Dain yelled over to Thorin and we fought our way over to Thorin.

 

“Hey cousin, what took you so long?” Dain laughed and thanks to a brief respite, they hugged.

 

“There’s too many of these buggers, Thorin. I hope you’ve got a plan.”

 

Thorin held up a hand and grabbed me in a crushing hug and kissed me roughly.

 

“Why did you not tell me you were with child?!” He demanded with a huge smile and I froze a moment then grinned back at him.

 

“I, ah, you know what, we’ll discuss it later. Right now, we need to talk about this plan you have.”

 

“Aye. We’re going to take out their leader.” He said, nodding to where Azog was standing.

 

“Azog…” Dain said, staring up where Thorin had motioned.

 

“Excellent! Let’s go.”

 

“Not you.”

 

“What? Why?! I have every right to be there! He killed my family!”

 

“And you are pregnant with my child! I will not let you two come to harm. I have done enough of that.”

 

“I am going, Thorin Oakenshield and you will not tell me otherwise.”

 

Dain began to laugh and he shook his head in amusement.

 

“Oh, cousin, you two are made for each other.” He chortled and gave a whistle, calling some goats over that they had brought with them.

 

“I’m gonna kill that piece of filth.” Thorin said and mounted the goat, holding out a hand for me to take. I took it and he lifted me up on the back of the goat while Dwalin, Kili, Akasha, Fili and Valora mounted the other goats and we raced off to beat the scum that ruined our lives.


	31. The End

“Where is he?”

 

 

We had fought through the ruins across the frozen from Azog’s stronghold, but the snake was no longer here.

 

“Looks empty. I think Azog has fled!” Kili exclaimed though Akasha still had her sword and shield at the ready just in case and I saw Valora was gripping her staff tightly in one hand and Fili’s hand in her other one.

 

“I don’t think so. Fili, take your brother and the girls. Scout the towers. Keep low and out of sight. If you see something, report back – do not engage.”

 

“Out of sight? Oh that’s no problem at all.” Valora smiled wickedly and with a wave of her hand, they were gone.

 

“Invisibility! Excellent!” Fili chuckled and they took off to scout around.

 

“We have company; Goblin mercenaries. No more than a hundred.” Dwalin said.

 

“Well, good thing we have our own mercenaries. Tatianna! Bull! Horns up!” I called and the Chargers popped up and charged towards the goblins, yelling horns up I saw Bull pick Tatianna up and toss her into the group. She was laughing happily as she sent a group of them tumbling down the mountainside and while some got through to us, not a whole lot did. I leapt into the air and slammed a boot clad foot into the skull of a goblin while dipping down low and coming up with my blade, the metal sinking into the gut of another goblin. Once they were dead and one, we looked over the frozen river, anxiously awaiting my sisters and Fili and Kili to return.

 

“Where is that Orc filth?” Dwalin muttered. Bilbo appeared out of thin air, panting and I jumped nearly out of my skin.

 

“Thorin…”

 

“Bilbo!”

 

“You have to leave! Now! Azog has another army attacking from the north. This watchtower will be completely surrounded. There’ll be no way out.”

 

“We are so close! That orc sum is in there. I say we push on.”

 

“No! That’s what he wants. He wants to draw us in.”

 

Things went quiet for a moment as realization dawned on us all.

 

“This is a trap!”

 

Suddenly, we heard a lot of noise and a loud shrieking sound and then silence. Then, a blood soaked Akasha appeared, a huge bloody grin on her face.

 

“Azog is coming your way! We killed all of his little friends, but left him for you! Also? Valora is a giant spider, so there’s that. Um… Don’t come over here, okay Ash? You’d faint if you saw her. Fili nearly did and he saw her change.”

 

 

“Wait, did she say Valora is a giant… spider?”

 

“Yes, ah, about that… Valora is a spirit healer and a shape shifter, so she can become almost any creature she desires. It’s a rather useful trick honestly.” I explained with a smile.

 

“Get over here, Akasha! Where are the others? Ah, other than Valora?”

 

“Valora is currently chasing Azog to the frozen river. Fili and Kili are right here next to me. Valora recast her spell on them just in case. I’m going to come back over with them.” She said and she took off to come back this way.

 

“Let’s go!” I took off a head of the others out to the frozen river and almost collided with Valora’s nasty spider body. I slid under her, shuddering and managed to catch my balance, and readied myself for a fight.

 

“Ashanna!” Thorin came darting onto the ice and Valora skittered out of there, shifting from spider form to her natural form and into a giant golden wolf with pure liquid silver eyes. She tipped her head back and howled loudly, loping away to help the others.

 

“I really wish I could do that.” I muttered under my breath and stood back to back with Thorin as Orcs that Azog called came rushing us. Arrows peppered the air and I saw Tauriel and Legolas shooting down at them along with Kili and Akasha, but instead of a bow, Akasha was throwing knives, hitting their throats, eyes and hearts. Soon, the other Orcs were dead, leaving just Thorin, myself and Azog on the ice.

 

“This is for all the Dalish you killed, filth. And for my father. May the Dread Wolf hound you even in death.” I said coldly, catching the blade Legolas tossed down and I threw myself at Azog, flipping over his sword and slicing his thigh and whipped around, dancing out of his reach, slicing him with my blade, keeping him focused on me. I was like water, moving fluidly, until the edge of his blade arm caught me across the face and I let out a screech of pain, hot blood running down my face. Thorin charged, dealing a huge blow to Azog, sending the Orc sliding against the ice. I rushed him again, sliding across the ice and slid into his legs, knocking Azog over once more and I realized it was breaking up under us when I saw cracks appearing in the ice.

 

“Shit!”

 

Thorin stumbled over an edge of the ice and Azog knocked his legs out from under him. I ran and tackled the Orc around the waist sending us crashing to the ground and I screamed as his arm blade pierced my gut. I heard my friends screaming and yelling and I managed to pull myself off the blade and crawl away, holding my stomach and fell back onto the ice, watching Thorin get up and charge Azog again. I cried out in pain when Valora rolled me so she could look at my wounds and she cursed loudly.

 

“Fili! I need your help!” She called and he leapt down and joined her, but I kept my eyes on Thorin and Azog, watching as Azog got his damned rock stuck in the ice and is forced to try and fight my love with his bladed arm.

 

“The eagles! And Radagast! Look! Beorn is here, too! Ha ha ha we might stand a chance now!” Akasha cheered, the look on Azog’s face telling me she was right. Thorin suddenly threw his blade down and lifted the rock at the end of Azog’s chain and tossed it to Azog, who instinctively caught it, a shocked look on his face the most comical thing I’d ever seen and Thorin hopped off the ice floe. Without Thorin’s weight to balance it out and the rock with Azog, it flipped him into the water and he sprinted over to where I was laying.

 

“Ashanna, hold on, hold on love, hold on. Valora, is the baby alright?”

 

“The baby will be fine Thorin. Fili, I need more lyrium please.”

 

“How can you be so calm? I’m bleeding everywhere and you’re not even flinching.” I whispered at her and she smiled softly.

 

“It’s because I’ve been healing you since we were children. I am used to it. You are the most clumsy, reckless elf I’ve ever had the pleasure and displeasure of knowing. And I hate you for it. But I love you for it too. You will live, though you’ll be a little tender for a few days.” She laughed, tears streaking her face. Bilbo came racing onto the ice and over to us.

 

“Ashanna!”

 

“I will live, Mister Baggins. Someone help me up, my ass is freezing.” I said and took my cousin’s hand.

 

“You are with child? His child? You are going to be a wonderful, if not a little frightening, mother, _lethallan_.” Legolas smiled and hugged me tightly. I returned it, burying my head in his neck and sniffling a little.

 

“Oh… hush! You’ll bring me to tears otherwise.” I laughed and drew back, wiping tears from my eyes. Iron Bull and the others joined us as we began to walk back to Erebor. Tonight, there would be a huge feast and many announcements to be made and though I wasn’t sure I was ready for it, I knew I would be alright because I had my _vhenan_ beside me and my friends all around me.


End file.
